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STRANGE PHENOMENA 



OF 



NE¥ ENGLAND: 

IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY: 



INCLUDING THE 



"SALEM W I T C H C R A F T," 



"1692." 



From the Writings of 

"THE REV. COTTON MATHER, D. D., 

PASTOR OP THE NORTH CHURCH IN BOSTON." 



Collected and Arranged for Re-publication 

BY HENRY JONES, 

AUTHOR OP " MESMERISM REPUDIATED" — " PRINCIPLES OP INTERPRETATION' 
** SCRIPTURES SEARCHED" — ETC. 



NEW-YORK: 

PIERCT AND REED, PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS, 

No. 9 Spruce Street. 
1846. 






>k 



^ 






INTRODUCTION. 



The following important document from Robert Calef's " SA- 
LEM WITCHCRAFT," &c, 318 pp. 12mo., " Printed in London, 
in the year 1700, and Reprinted, Salem, Ms., 1796," appears like 
a specimen of public sentiment in 1694, in favor of publishing the 
following history, and of its being seriously regarded when pub- 
lished, by generations then to come, notwithstanding the present 
opposite opinions of many. 

" Certain Proposals made by the President and Fellows of Har- 
vard College, to the Reverend Ministers of the Gospel, in the 
several churches of New England. 

""M71 IRST. To observe and record the more illustrious discoveries 
-■- of the Divine Providence in the Government of the world, is 
a design so holy, so useful, so justly approved, that the too general 
neglect of it in the churches of God, is as justly to be lamented. 

" 2. For the redress of that neglect, although all Christians have 
a duty incumbent on them, yet it is in a peculiar manner to be re- 
commended unto the ministers of the Gospel, to improve the special 
advantages which are in their hands, to obtain and preserve the 
knowledge of such notable occurrences as are sought out by all that 
have pleasure in the great works of the Lord. 

" 3. The things to be esteemed memorable, are specially all unu- 
sual accidents in the heaven, or earth, or water, all wonderful de- 
liverances of the distressed, mercies to the Godly, judgments on the 
wicked, and more glorious fulfilments of either the promises or 
threatenings in the scriptures of truth, with apparitions, possessions, 
enchantments, and all extraordinary things, wherein the existence 
* and agency of the Invisible 1 World is more sensibly demonstrated. 

" 4. It is therefore proposed, Thai the ministers throughout 



iy INTRODUCTION. 

this land would manifest their pious regards unto the works of the 
Lord, and the operation of his hands, by reviving their cares to take 
written accounts of such Remarkables : But still well attested with. 
credible and sufficient ivitness. 

" 5. It is desired that the accounts, thus taken of these remarka- 
bles, may be sent to the President, or the Fellows of the College, by 
whom they shall be carefully reserved for such a use to be made of 
them, as may, by some fit assembly of ministers, be judged rnost con- 
ducing to the glory of God, and the service of his people. 

" 6. Though we doubt not that love to the name of God, will be a 
sufficient motive to all good men, to contribute what assistance they 
can, unto this undertaking; yet for further encouragemet, some 
singular marks of respects shall be studied for such good men, as 
will actually assist it, by taking pains to communicate any import- 
ant passages proper to be inserted in this collection. 

" INCREASE MATHER, President. 

" James Allen, 
Char. Morton, 
Sam. Willard, 
Cotton Mather, )- Fellows, 
John Leverette, 
Will. Brattle, 
Neh. Walter, 

"Cambridge, [Ms.\ March 5, 1694." 



STRANGE PHENOMENA, &c. 



From Mather's "Magnolia:" or "Ecclesiastical History of New England :" Folio Edv» 
tion; "Book VI. Chap. VII. Printed, London, 1792." 



Relating to the wonders of the invisible tcorld in preternatural occur- 



" When two goats were offered to the Lord (and only to the Lord) 
on the day of expiation, on the day of the ancient Israelites, we read 
that one of them was to fall by lot to Azazel. Azazel cannot, without 
some hardship on the sense, be taken for the Scape Goat itself. But 
it is no other than the devil himself, as might easily be proved from 
monuments of the greatest, both Jewish and Christian antiquities. 

"In the signification of the word Azazel, there is indeed a notable 
declaration of those two properties that have signalized the devil as 
being first, a holy, and then an apostate spirit. The scape goat pre- 
sented as a sacrifice to the holy God, was ordered by him to be deli- 
vered up to Azazel upon those notations. One. design hereof, might 
be to intimate to the people what would be the miserable condition 
of them who did not, by faith in the Messiah, get the guilt of their sins 
removed. They that have their sins laying upon them and are led 
forth by the workers of iniquity, must become a prey to Azazel, even 
unto Satan to whose temptation, they did, -in their sinning, yield obe- 
dience. And, indeed, our Lord has expressly told us (perhaps not 
without some allusion to this Levitical goat,) that he will send the 
goats which have their sins upon them to be with the devil and his 
angels. But another and greater design of it, might be to represent a 
main article in the sufferings which were to befal our Lord Messiah 
when he should come to suffer for our sins. When our Lord Jesus 
Christ underwent his humiliation for us, this point was very consi- 
derable in it. He was carried to the wilderness and there he was 
exposed to the buffetings and outrages of Azazel. The assaults that 
Satan then and afterward made on our Lord Jesus Christ, producing 
a most horrible anguish in his mind made such a figure in his conflicts 
for us that they were well worthy of a most particular prefiguration. 
And one thing in the prefiguration must be, that the goat for Azazel, 
must be sent into the desert. In the days of Moses, it seems, deserts 
were counted very much an habitation of devils ; yea, they really 



MATHER'S ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 



were what they were counted, and for that cause, the names of Shedim 
and Zijim were put upon them, and when the scriptures foretel deso- 
lations of such and such places, they still make the devils to be their 
inhabitants. 

" Who can tell whether the envy of the devils at the favor of God 
unto men, may not provoke them to affect retirement from the sight of 
populous and prosperous regions, except so far as they reckon their 
work of tempting mankind, necessary to be carried on 1 Or perhaps, 
it is not every country which the devils prefer before the deserts. 
Regions in which the devils are much served by those usages in wor- 
ship or manners which are pleasing to them are, by those doleful 
creatures, enough resorted to. Yea, if sin much abound any where, 
some devils entreat that they may not be sent from thence into the 
wilderness, as the devils of Mascon would say, that Mr. Perreaud the 
minister, that lived in the haunted house, — While you go to prayer, I'll 
go and lake a turn in the streets. 

" Thus to omit what Alexander Hales reports of one retiring * 

where spirits taught him the things which he wrote in his book, * 

We know that in Lucian, the famous magician with his companions 
betook themselves ...;.* to a desert, woody, shady region for a con- 
versation with spirits. 

" Whatever becomes of the observations which we have heretofore 
been making, there has been too much cause to observe that the 
christians who were driven into the American desert, which is now 
called New England have, to their sorrow, seen Azazel dwelling and 
raging there in very tragical instances. The devils have doubtless 
felt a more than ordinary vexation from the arrival of those christians 
with their sacred exercises of Christianity in this wilderness, for our 
vexation as well as their own. 

" Molestation from evil spirits in more sensible and surprising appa- 
ritions than those finer methods wherein they commonly work upon 
the minds of all men, but especially of ill men, have so abounded in 
this country, that I question whether any one town has been free from 
them. The neighbors have not been careful enough to record and 
attest the prodigious occurrences of this importance, which have been 
among us. Many true and strange occurrences from the invisible 
world, are faultily buried in oblivion. But some of those very stu- 
pendous things have had their memory preserved in the written me- 
morials of honest, prudent and faithful men, whose veracity in the 
relation, cannot without great injury, be questioned. 



THE FIRST EXAMPLE. 



" Ann Cole, a person of serious piety, living in the house of her godly 
father at Hertford, in the year 1662, was taken with very strange fits 



Not English. 



OF STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY, 7 

wherein her tongue was improved by a demon to express things un- 
known to herself. The general purpose of discourse, which held 
sometimes, for a considerable while, was, that such and such persons 
named in the discourse, were consulting how they might carry on 
mischievous designs against her and several others, by afflicting their 
bodies or destroying their good names ; upon all which, the general 
answer heard among those invisible speakers, was, Ah ! she runs to 
the rock ! After such an entertainment had held for some hours, the 
demons were heard saying, Let us confound her language, that she may 
tell no more talcs ! whereupon the conference became unintelligible to 
the standers by : And then it passed in a Dutch tone, giving therein, 
an account of mischiefs that had befallen divers persons, and amongst 
the rest, what had befallen a woman that lived next neighbor to a 
Dutch family then in the town, which woman had been preternatu- 
rally indisposed. Several eminent ministers wrote the speeches of 
the spirits heard in the mouth of this Ann Cole, and one of the persons 
therein mentioned as active in the matter then spoken of, (whose 
name was Greensmith) being then in prison, on suspicion, of witchcraft, 
was brought before the magistrates. The ministers reading to her 
[the prisoner] what they had written, she with astonishment, con- 
fessed that the things were so, and that she with other persons named 
in the papers, had familiarity with a devil. She said, that she had 
not yet made a formal covenant with her devil, but only promised 
that she would go with him when he called her,which she had sundry 
times done accordingly, and that he told her, that at Christmas, they 
would have a merry meeting, and then the agreement between them 
should be subscribed. 

" She acknowleged the day before, that when the ministers began to 
read what they did, she was in such a rage that she could have torn 
them to pieces ; and she was resolved upon the denial of her guilt; but 
after they had read a while, she was as if her flesh were pulled from her 
bones, and she could no longer deny what they charged upon her. 
She declared that her devil, appeared to her, first in the shape of a 
deer skipping about her, and at last, proceeded so far in that shape, 
as to talk with her, and that the devil had frequently carnal knowledge 
of her* 

" Upon this confession, with other concurrent evidence, the woman 
[from the prison, ]was executed, and other persons accused, made their 
escape ; whereupon Ann Cole was happily delivered from the ex- 
traordinary troubles wherewith she had been exercised. 



"THE SECOND EXAMPLE. 

" In the town of Groton, one Elizabeth Knapp (Oct. 1671,) was 
taken after a very strange manner ; sometimes weeping, sometimes 
laughing, sometimes raving with violent agitations, crying out Money ! 
Motiey ! Her tongue would be, for hours, drawn like a semicircle to 



8 Mather's ecclesiastical history 

the roof of her mouth, so that no fingers applied to it, could remove it. 
Six men were scarcely able to hold her in some of her fits ; but she 
would skip about the house yelling and howling, and looking 
hideously. 

" On Dec. 17, her tongue being drawn out of her mouth to an ex- 
traordinary length, a demon began manifestly to speak in her ; for 
many words were distinctly uttered, wherein are the labial letters, 
without any motion of her lips at all. Words were also uttered from 
her throat, sometimes when her mouth was wholly shut ; and some- 
times words were uttered when her mouth was wide open, but no 
organs of speech used therein. The chief things the demon spoke, 
were horrid railings against the godly minister of the town, but some- 
times he likewise belched out most nefarious blasphemies against 
the God of heaven. And one thing about this young woman, was still 
more remarkable ; she cried out in her fits that a certain woman in 
the neighborhood appeared unto her, and was the only cause of her 
affliction. The woman thus cried out upon, was doubtless an holy, 
devout and virtuous person, and she, by the advice of her friend, 
visited the afflicted. The possessed creature, though she was in one 
of her fits, and had her eyes wholly shut, yet when this innocent 
woman was coming, she discovered herself wonderfully sensible of it, 
and was in grievous agonies at her approach. 

"But this innocent woman thus accused and abused by a malicious 
devil, prayed earnestly with, and for this possessed creature, where- 
upon, coming to herself, she confessed that she had been deluded by 
Satan and compelled by him unreasonably to think and speak evil of a 
good neighbor without a cause. After this, there was no further com- 
plaint of such an one*s apparition, but she said, some devil in the shape 
of divers, did diversely and cruelly torment her, and then told her it 
was not he but they, that were her tormentors. 

" the third example, 

"In the year 1679, the house of Wm. Morse at Newbery, was in- 
fected with demons after a most horrid manner, not unlike the demons 
of Tedworth. It would fill many pages to relate all the infestations, 
but the chief of them were these ; bricks and stones were often by 
some invisible hand, thrown at the house, and so were many pieces 
of wood. A cat was thrown at the woman of the house ; and a long 
Btaff danced up and down in the chimney, And afterward, the long 
staff was hanged by a line, and swung to and fro : and when two per- 
sons laid it on the fire to burn it> it was as much as they could do with 
their joint strength to hold it there. An iron crook was by an invisi- 
ble hand, hurled about, and a chair flew about the room, until at last it 
lit upon the table where the meat was ready to be eaten, and had 
spoiled it all if the people had not, with much ado, saved a little. 
A chest was, by an invisible hand, carried from one place to another, 
and the doors barricaded and the keys of the family taken ; some of 



OF STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 9 

them from the bunch where tied, and the rest flying about, with a loud 
noise of their knocking against one another. For one while, the folks 
of the house could not sup quietly, but ashes would be thrown into 
their suppers, and on their heads, and their clothes, and the shoes of 
the men being left below, one of them was filled with ashes and coals, 
and thrown up after him. While they w ere a-bed, a stone weighing 
three pounds, was divers times thrown upon them. A box and a 
board were likewise thrown upon them; and a bag of hops being 
taken out of a chest, they were, with an invisible hand, beaten there- 
with, till some of the hops were scattered on the floor, where the bag 
was then laid and left. The man was often struck by that hand with 
several instruments, and the same hand cast their good things into 
the fire : yea, while the man was at prayer with bis household, a 
hesom gave him a blow on his head behind, and fell down before his 
face. When they were winnowing their barley, dirt was thrown at 
them ; and assaying to fill their half-bushel with corn, the foul corn 
would be thrown in with the clear so irresistibly that they were forced 
thereby to give over what they were about. 

"While the man was writing, his ink-horn, was, by the invisible 
hand, snatched from him, and being able no where to find it ; he saw 
it at length drop out of the air, down by the fire. A shoe was laid upon 
his shoulder, but when he would have catched it, it was rapt from 
him. It was then clapped upon his head, and there he held it so fast, 
that the unseen/wry pulled him backward on the floor. He had his 
cap torn off his head, and in the night, he was pulled by the hair, and 
pricked, and scratched, and the invisible hand pricked him with some 
of his awls, and with needles and bodkins, and blows that fetched 
blood, were sometimes given him. Frozen clods of cow dung were 
often thrown at him ; and his wife going to milk the cows, they could 
by no means, preserve the vessels of milk from the like annoyances, 
which made it fit only for the hogs. 

"She going down into the cellar, the trap door was immediately, 
by an invisible hand, shut upon her, and a table brought and laid upon 
the door, which kept her there till the man removed it. When he 
was writing at another time, a dish went and leapt into a pail and cast 
water on the man, and on all the concerns before him, so as to defeat 
what he was then upon. His cap jumped off his head, and then on 
again ; and the^ pot lid went off the pot into the kettle, and then over 
the fire together. 

" A little boy belonging to the family, was the principle sufferer in 
these molestations, for he was flying about at such a rate, that they 
feared his brains would be beaten out ; nor did they find it possible to 
hold him. His bed-clothes would be pulled from him; his bed 
shaken, and his bed-staff leap forward and backward. The man took 
him to keep him in a chair, but the chair fell a dancing, and both of 
them were very near being thrown into the fire. These and a 
thousand such vexations befalling the boy at home, they carried him to 
live abroad at a Doctor's. There he was quiet, but returning home, 



10 Mather's ecclesiastical history. 

he suddenly cried out, he was pricked on the back where they found 
strangely sticking, a three-tined fork which belonged to the Doctor, and 
had been seen at his house after the boy's departure. Afterward, 
his troubles found him at the Doctor's also, where crying out again, 
Tic was pricked on the back ; they found an iron spindle stuck into him, 
and on the outcry again, they found pins in a paper stuck into him ; 
and once more, a long iron, a bowl of a spoon, and a piece of a pan- 
shred, in like sort, stuck upon him. He was taken out of his bed and 
thrown under it, and all the knives belonging to the house, were, one 
after another, stuck into his back, which the spectators pulled out. 
Only one of them seemed to the spectators, to come out of his mouth. 
The poor boy was divers times, thrown into the fire, and preserved 
from scorching there, with much ado. For a long while, he barked 
like a dog, and then clucked like a hen, and could not speak 
rationally. His tongue would be pulled out of his mouth, but when 
he could recover it so far as to speak, he complained that a man called 
P 1 appeared unto him as the cause of all. 

"Once in the day time, he was transported where none could find 
him, till at last, they found him creeping on one side, and sadly dumb 

and lame. "When he was able to express himself, he said that P 1 

had carried him over the top of the house and hurled him against a 
crat- wheel in the barn ; and accordingly, they found some remainders 
of the threshed barley which was on the bam floor, hanging about his 
garments. 

'•The spectre* would make all his meat, when he was going to eat, 
fly out of his mouih, and instead thereof, make him fall to eating ashes 
and sticks, and yarn. The man and his wife taking the boy to bed 
with them, a chamber-pot with its contents, was thrown upon them. 
They were severely pinched, and pulled out of bed, and many other 
fruits of devilish spite were they dogged withal, until it pleased God 
mercifully to shorten the chain of the devil. But before the devil was 
chained up, the invisible hand which did all these things, began to put 
on an astonishing visibility. 

"They often thought they felt the hand that scratched them, while 
yet, they saw it not, but when they thought they had hold of it, it 
would give them the slip. Once the fist beating the man, was 
discernable, but they could not catch hold of it. At length, an 
apparition of a Blackamoor child showed itself plainly to them. And 
another time, a drumming on the boards was heard, which was 
followed with a voice, that sung 1 , Revenge ! Revenge! Sweet is revenge! 
At this, the people being terrified, called upon God, whereupon, 
there followed a mournful note, several times uttering these 
expressions, Alas! alas ! we knock no more ! and there was an end of 
all. 



*Apparition. 



OP STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY, 11 

" THE FOURTH EXAMPLE. 

"In the year 1683, the house of Nicolas Desborough at Hartford, 
was very strangely molested, by stones, by pieces of earth, by cobs of 
corn, and other such things from an invisible hand, thrown at him, 
sometimes through the door, sometimes through the window, 
sometimes down the chimney, and sometimes from the floor of the 
room (tho' very close) over his head, and sometimes he met with them 
in the shop, the yard, the barn and the field. There was no violence 
in the motions of the things thus thrown, by the invisible hand, and 
though others beside the man happened sometimes to be hit, they 
were never hurt with them. Only the man himself, once had pain 
given to his arm, and once blood fetched from his leg by these 
annoyances,, and a fire in an unknown way kindled, consumed no 
little part of his estate. 

"This troubje began upon a controversy between Desborough and 
another person, about a chest of clothes which the man apprehended 
to be unrighteously detained by Desborough, and it endured for divers 
months, but upon the restoring of the clothes thus detained, the 
trouble ceased. 

" At Brighton, in Sussex, Eng. there happened a tragedy not unlike 
to these, in the year 1669. 'Tis recorded by Clark, in the second 

VOL. of his EXAMPLES.' 

"THE fifth example. 

V On June 11, 1682, showers of stones were thrown by an invisible 
hand, upon the house of Gen. Walton, at Portsmouth, whereupon the 
people .going out, found the gate wrung off the /tinges, and stones 
flying and falling thick about them, and striking of them, seemingly 
with great force, but really affecting them no more than if a soft touch 
were given them. The glass windows were broken to pieces by 
the stones which came, not from without, but from within ; and other 
instruments were, in like manner hurled about. Nine of the stones 
they took up, whereof, some were as hot as if they had come out of 
the fire, and marking them, they laid them on the table ; but in a little 
while they found some of them flying about. The spit was carried up 
the chimney and came down with the point forward, stuck in the 
back-log, from whence, one of the company removing it, it was bv an 
invisible hand, thrown out at the window. These disturbances con- 
tinued from day to day, and sometimes a dismal hollow whistling 
would be heard, and sometimes the trotting and snorting of a horse, 
but nothing to be seen. The man went up the river in a boat to a 
farm he had there ; but there the stones found him out, and carrying 
from the house to the boat, a stirrup iron, the iron came jingling after 
him through the woods as far as his house, and at last went away, and 
was heard of no more. The anchor leapt overboard several times 
and stopped the boat. A cheese was taken out of the press and 
crumbled all over the floor, and a piece of iron stuck into the wall, 



12 MATHER S ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

and a kettle hung thereon. Several cocks of hay mowed near the 
house, were taken up and hung upon trees, and others made into 
small wisps and scattered about the house. The man was much hurt 
by some of the stones. He was a Quaker and suspected that a woman 
who charged him with injustice in obtaining some land from her, did 
by witchcraft, occasion these preternatural occurrences, however, at 
last they came to an end. 

"the stxth example. 

" In June 1682, Mary the wife of Antonia Hortado, dwelling near 
Salmon Falls, heard a voice at the door of her house, calling ; What 
do you here I And about an hour after, had a blow on her eye that 
almost spoiled her. Two or three days after, a great stone was thrown 
along the house, which the people going to take up, was unaccount- 
ably gone. A frying-pan then in the chimney, rang so loud that the 
people at a hundred rods distance, heard it, and the said Mary with 
her husband, going over the river in a canoe, they saw the head of a 
man, and about three feet off, the tail of a cat swimming before the 
canoe, but no body to join them, and the same apparition again fol- 
lowed the canoe when they returned . But at their landing, it first 
disappeared. A stone thrown by an invisible hand, after this, caused 
a swelling and soreness in her head; and she was bitten on both arms 
black and blue, and her breast scratched ; the impression of teeth, 
which were like a man's teeth, was seen by many. 

" They deserted their house on those occasions, and though at a 
neighbor's house, they were at first haunted with apparitions, the 
satanical molestations quickly ceased. When Antonia returned unto 
his own house, at his entrance there, he heard one walking in his 
chamber and saw the boards buckle under the feet of the walker, 
and yet there was no body there. For this cause, he went back to 
dwell on the other side of the river; but thinking he might plant the 
ground, though he left his house ; he had five good rods of good log- 
fence thrown down at once, and the footing of neat cattle plainly to 
be seen almost between every row of corn in the field, yet no cattle 
were seen there, nor any damage done to his corn, or so much as a leaf 
of it cropt. 

" THE SEVENTH EXAMPLE. 

" Mr. Philip Smith, aged about fifty years, son of eminently virtuous 
parents, a Deacon of the church in Hadley, a member of the General 
Court, a Select Man for the affairs of the town, a Lieutenant of the 
Troop, and which crowns all, a man for devotion, sanctity, gravity, 
and all that was honest, exceeding exemplary. Such a man was, in 
the winter of the year 16S4, murdered with an hideous witchcraft, that 
filled all those parts of New England with astonishment. He was, 
by his office, about relieving the indigence of a wretched woman in 
the town, who being dissatisfied at some of his just cares about her, 



OP STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 13 

expressed herself unto him in such a manner, that he declared himself 
henceforward apprehensive of receiving mischief at her hands. 

" About the middle of January, he began to be very, valetudinarian, 
laboring under pains that seemed ischiatick. The standers by, could 
now see him ripening apace, for an other world, and filled with grace 
and joy to an high degree. He showed such weariedness from, and 
weariness of the world, that he knew not, [he said] whether he might 
pray for his continuance here. And such assurance he had of the di- 
vine love unto him, that in raptures, he would ciy out, Lord stay thy 
hand, it is enough, it is more than thy frail servant can hear! But in 
the midst of these things he still uttered a hard suspicion, that the ill 
woman who had threatened him, had made impressions with enchant- 
ments upon him. While he remained yet in a sound mind, he very 
sedately, but very solemnly charged his brother to look well after him. 
Though he said he now understood himself, yet he knew not how he 
might be. But he sure, (said he) to have a care of me, for you shall see 
strange things ; There shall he a wonder in Hadley; 1 shall not he dead, 
when it is thought I am. He pressed this charge, over and over; and 
afterward became delirious, upon which, he had a speech incessant and 
voluble, and (as was judged,) in various languages. He cried out, 
not only for pains, but of pins tormenting him in several parts of his 
body, and the attendants found one of them. In his distress he ex- 
claimed much upon the woman aforesaid, and others, as being seen by 
him in the room ; and there was, divers times, both in that room, and 
over the whole house, a strong smell of something like musk, which 
once particularly so scented an apple roasting at the fire, that it forced 
thern to throw it away. Some of the young men of the town being 
out of their wits at these strange calamities, thus upon one of their most 
beloved neighbors, went three or four times to give disturbance unto 
the woman complained of; and all the while they were disturbing of 
her, he was at ease, and slept as a weary man. Yea, these were the 
only times, they perceived him to take any rest during his illness. 
Gaily pots of medicine provided for the sick man, were unaccountably 
emptied. Audible scratchings were heard about the bed when his 
hands and feet lay wholly still, and were held by others. They be- 
held fire sometimes on the bed, and when the beholders began to dis- 
course of it, it vanished away. Divers people actually felt something 
often stir in the bed, at a considerable distance from the man ; It 
seemed as big as a cat, but they could neher grasp it, several trying to 
lean on the bed's head, tho the sick man lay wholly still, the bed would 
shake so as to knock their heads uncomfortably. A very strong man 
could not lift the sick man to make him lie more easily, tho' he applied 
his utmost strength unto it, and yet he could go presently and lift a 
bedstead, and a bed, and a man lying on it, without any strain to him- 
self at all. Mr. S?nith dies; — The jury that viewed his corpse, found 
a swelling on one breast, his privitives wounded or burned, his back 
full of bruises, and several holes that seemed made with awls. After 



14 MATHERS ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 

the opinion of all had pronounced him dead, his countenance con- 
tinued as lively as if he had been alive, his eyes closed as in a slumber, 
and his nether jaw, not fallen down. 

" Thus he remained from Saturday morning about sun rise, till sab- 
bath day in the afternoon, when those who took him out of the bed, 
found him still warm, tho' the season was as cold almost, as had been 
known in any age, and a New English winter does not want for cold. 
On the night following, his countenance was yet fresh as before ; but 
on Monday morning they found the face extremely tumefied and dis- 
colored. It was black and blue, and fresh blood seemed running 
down his cheek upon the hairs. Divers noises were also heard in the 
room where the corpse lay ; as the clattering of chairs, and stools 
whereof no account could be given. — This was the end of so good a 
man. 

" And I could, with unquestionable evidence,- relate the tragical 
deaths of several good men in this land, attended with such preterna- 
tural circumstances ; which have loudly called upon us all to work out 
our salvation with fear and trembling. 

" THE EIGHTH EXAMPLE. 

" There was one Mary Johnson tried at Hertford in this country, 
upon an indictment of familiarity with the devil, and was found guilty 
thereof; chiefly upon her own confession. Her confession was at- 
tended with such convictive circumstances, that it could not be slighted. 
Very many material passages relating to this matter, are now lost; 
But so much as is well known and can be proved, shall be inserted. 
She said, her first familiarity with the devil came through discontent, 
and wishing the devil to take this and that, and the devil to do that 
and other things. Whereupon a devil appeared unto her, tendering 
unto her whatever services might best content her. A devil accord- 
ingly did, for her many services. Her master blamed her for not car- 
rying out the ashes ; and the devil afterwards, would clear the hearth 
of ashes for her. Her master sending her to drive out the hogs that 
sometimes broke into the field, a devil would scare the hogs away, and 
make her laugh to see how he served them. She confessed that she 
had murdered a child, and committed uncleanness both with men and 
devils. In the time of imprisonment, the famous Mr. Stone was at great 
pains to promote her conversion from the devil to God, and she was, 
by the best observers, judged very penitent, both before her execution 
and at it ; and she went out of the world, with comfortable hopes of 
mercy from God, thro' the merits of our Saviour. Being asked what 
she built her hopes upon ; She answered, Upon these words, Come 
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest j 
And these, There is a fountain set open for sin and uncleanness. And she 
died in a frame extremely to the satisfaction of them that were spec- 
tators of it. 



** STANCE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 15 
"THE NINTH EXAMPLE. 

" Four children of John Goodwin in Boston, which had enjoyed a 
religious education, and answered it with a towardly ingenuity ; chil- 
dren indeed, of an exemplary temper and carriage, and an example to 
all about them for piety, honesty and industry. These were, in the 
year 1688, arrested by a very stupendous witchcraft. The eldest of 
the children, a daughter of about thirteen years old, saw cause to ex- 
amine their laundress, the daughter of a scandalous Irish woman in 
the neighborhood, about some linen that was missing, and the woman 
bestowing very bad language upon the child, in her daughter's de- 
fence, the child was immediately taken with odd fits, that carried in 
them something diabolical. It was not long before one of her sisters 
with two of her brothers, were horribly taken with the like fits, which 
the most experienced physician pronounced extraordinary and preter- 
natural ; and one thing tha$ more confirmed them in this opinion, 
was, that all the children were tormented still in just the same part of 
their bodies, at the same time ; tho' their pains flew like swift light- 
ning from one part of their bodies to another, and they were kept so 
far asunder that they neither saw nor heard one another's complaints. 
At 9 or 10 o'clock at night they still had a release from their miseries, 
and slept all night very comfortably. But when the day came, they 
were most miserably handled. Sometimes they were deaf, sometimes 
dumb, sometimes blind, and often, all this at once. Their tongues 
would be drawn down their throats, and pulled out upon their chins, 
to a prodigious length. Their mouths were forced open to such a 
wideness, that their jaws went out of joint ; and anon clapped together 
again, with a force like that of a spring lock ; and the like would hap- 
pen to their shoulder blades, and their elbows, and hand-wrists and 
several of their joints. They would lie in a benumbed position, and 
be drawn together like those that are tied, neck and heels, and pre- 
sently stretched out ; yea, drawn back enormously. They made 
pitious outcries that they were cut with knives, and struck with blows, 
and the plain prints of the wounds were seen upon them. Their neck 
would be broken, so that their neck-bone would seem dissolved, unto 
them that felt after it ; and yet, on a sudden, it would become again, 
so stiff that there was no stirring of their heads ; Yea, their heads 
would be twisted almost round ; And if the main force of their friends 
at any time, obstructed a dangerous motion which they seemed set 
upon, they would roar exceedingly. And when devotions were per- 
formed with them, their hearing was utterly taken from them. The 
ministers of Boston and Charlestown keeping a day of prayer with 
fasting, on this occasion, at the troubled house, the youngest of the four 
children was immediately, happily and finally delivered from its trou- 
ble. But the magistrates being awakened by the noise of these griev- 
ous and horrid occurrences, examined the person who was under the 
suspicion of having employed those troublesome demons; and she 
gave such a wretched account of herself that she was committed unto 
the jailer's custody. 



16 MATHER S ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 

" It was not long before this woman (whose name was Glover) was 
brought upon her trial ; But the Court could have no answers from 
her but in the Irish, which was her native language, altho' she under- 
stood English very well, and had accustomed her whole family r^none 
but English, in her former conversation. When she pleaded lo ksr 
indictment, it was with owning and bragging, rather than denial of 
her guilt. And the interpreters, by whom the communication between 
the bench and the bar was managed, were made sensible that a spell 
had been laid by another witch on this, to prevent her telling tales, by 
confining her to a language which 'twas hoped nobody would under- 
stand. The woman's house being searched, images, or puppets, or babies, 
made of rags and stuffed with goat's hair, were there produced, and 
the vile woman confessed that her way to torment the objects of her 
malice, was by wetting her finger with her spittle, and stroking of 
those little images. The abused children were then present in the 
Court, and the woman kept still stooping and shrinking, as one that 
was almost prest unto death, with a mighty weight upon her. But one 
of the images being brought unto her, she oddly and swiftly started 
up, and snatched it into her hand ; but she had no sooner snatched it, 
than one of the children fell into sad fits, before the whole assembly. 
The Judges had their just apprehensions at this, and carefully causing 
a repetition of the experiment, they still found the same event of it, 
though the children saw not when the hand of the witch was laid upon 
the images. They asked her whether she had any to stand by her ? 
She replied, she had, and looking very pertly into the air, she added, 
No ! he's gone. And she then acknowledged that she had one, who 
was her Prince, with whom she mentioned, I know not what commu- 
nion. For which cause, the night after, she was heard expostulating 
with a devil, for his thus deserting her, telling him that because he 
had served her so basely, and falsely she had confessed all. 

"However, to make all clear, the Court appointed five or six phy- 
sicians to examine her very strictly, to see whether she were no way 
crazed, in her intellectuals. Divers hours did they spend with her, 
and in all which no discourse came from her but what was agreeable, 
particularly when they asked her what she thought would become of 
her soul] She replied, You ask me a very solemn question, and I 
cannot tell what to say to it. She professed herself a Roman Catholic, and 
could recite her vater noster in Latin, very readily ; but there was one 
clause or two, always too haid for her, whereof she said, she could not 
repeat it if she might have all the world. 

" Upon the upshot, the Doctors returned her compos mentis, and 
sentence of death was passed upon her. Divers days passed between 
her being arraigned and condemned ; and in this time, one Hughes tes- 
tified that her neighbor (called Hoioen) who was cruelly bewitched 
unto death, about six years before, laid her death to the charge of this 
woman, and bid her (the said Hughes) to remember this, for in six 
years, there would be occasion to mention it. One of Hughes' children 
was presently taken ill in the same woful manner that Goodwin's 



OF STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 17 

were, and particularly the boy in the night, cried out, that a black 
person with a blue cap in the room, tortured him, and that they tried 
with their hand in the bed, for to pull out his bowels. The mother of 
the boy went unto Glover the day following, and asked her, * Wh$ 
she tortured her poor lad at such a rate V Glove?' answered, ' Be- 
cause of the wrong she had received from her,' and boasted ' thatsh«. 
'had come at him as a black person with a blue cap ; and with her harm 
in the bed, would have pulled his bowels out, but could not.' Hughes 
denied that she had wronged her, and Glover then desiring to see the 
boy, wished him well, upon which he had no more of his indispositions. 
After the condemnation of trie woman, T did myself give divers visits 
unto her, w T herein she told me, that she did use to be at meetings 
where her Prince, with four more, were present. She told me who 
the four were, and plainly said that her ' Prince was the devil.' When 
I told her that and how her Prince had cheated her, she replied, ' If 
it be so, I am sorry for that/ And when she declined answering 
some things that I asked her, she told me that she ' would fain give 
me a full answer, but her spirits would not give her leave;' nor could 
she consent, she said, without their leave, that I should pray for her. 
At her execution, she said, that the afflicted children should not be 
relieved by her death, for others besides herself, had a hand in their 
affliction. Accordingly the three children continued in their furnace 
as before, and it grew rather seven times hotter than it was. In their 
fits they cried of {they) and (them) as the authors of all their miseries, 
but who that (they) and (them) were, they were not able to declare. 
Yet at last, one of the children was able to discern their shapes and 
utter their names. A blow at the place where they saw the spectre, 
was always felt by the boy, in that part of his body that answered 
what might be stricken at ; and this though his back were turned, and 
the thing so done, that there could be no collusion in it. But as a blow 
at the spectre always hurt him, so it always helped him too; for 
after the agonies to which a push or stab had put him, were over, (as 
in a minute or two they would be,) he would have a respite from his 
ails, a considerable while, and the spectre would be gone. Yea, 'twas 
very credibly affirmed, that a dangerous woman or two, in the town, 
received wounds by the blows thus given to their spectres. The ca- 
lamities of the children went on, till they barked at one another like 
dogs, and then purred like so many cats. They would complain that 
they were in a red hot oven, and sweat and pant as much as if they 
had been really so. Anon, they would say, that cold water was thrown 
on them, at which they would shiver very much. 

" They would complain of blows with great cudgels laid upon them, 
and we that stood by, though we could see no cudgels, yet could see 
the marks of the blows, in red streaks upon their flesh. They would 
complain of being roasted on an invisible spit, and lie and roll and 
groan as if it had been most sensibly so ; and by and by, shriek that 
knives were cutting of them. They would complain that their heads 
were nailed unto the floor, and it was beyond an ordinary strength to 



18 Mather's ecclesiastical history 

pull them from thence. They would be so limber sometimes that it 
was judged every bone they had might be bent, and anon, so stiff that 
not a joint of them could be stirred. 

" One of them dreamt that something was growing within his skin 
cross one of his ribs. An expert Chirurgeon searched the place, and 
found there a brass pin, which could not possibly come to lie there as 
it did, without a prestigious and mysterious conveyance. Sometimes 
they would be very mad, and then they would climb over high fences; 
yea, they would fly like geese, and be carried with an incredible swift- 
ness thro' the air, having but just their toes now and then upon the 
ground, (sometimes not once in twenty feet,) and their arms moved 
like the wings of a bird. They were often very near drowning or 
burning of themselves, and they often strangled themselves with their 
neck-clothes ; but the providence of God still ordered the seasonable 
succours of them that looked after them. If there happened any mis- 
chief to be done where they were, as the dirtying of a garment, or 
spilling of a cup, or breaking of a glass, they would laugh excessively. 

" But upon the least reproof of their parents, they were thrown 
into inexpressible anguish, and roar as excessively. It usually took 
up abundance of time to dress or undress them, thro' the strange 
postures into which they would be twisted, on purpose to hinder it ; 
and yet the demons did not know our thoughts ; for if we used a jargon 
and said, 'untie his neckcloth,' but the party understood our meaning 
to be, untie his shoe, the neckcloth, and not the shoe, has been by 
writhing postures, rendered strongly inaccessible. In their beds, they 
would be sometimes treated so, that no clothes could, for an hour or 
two, be laid upon them. If they were bidden to do a needless thing, 
(as to rub a cleantable,) they were able to do it unmolested ; but if to 
do any useful thing, (as to rub a dirty table,) they would presently, 
with many torments, be made incapable. 

" They were sometimes hindered from eating their meals, by having 
their teeth set, when any thing was carrying unto their mouths. If 
there were any discourse of God or Christ, or any of the things which 
are not seen, and are eternal, they would be cast into intolerable an- 
guishes. All praying to God, and reading of his word, would occasion 
them a very terrible vexation. Their own ears would then be stopped 
with their own hands : and they would roar, and howl, and shriek, and 
halloe, to drown the voice of the devotions ; yea, if any one in the 
room took up a Bible to look into it, tho' the children could see nothing 
of it, as being in a crowd of spectators, or having their faces another 
way, yet would they be in wonderful torments till the Bible was laid 
aside. Briefly, no good thing could be endured near those childern 
though, while they were themselves, they loved every good thing, that 
proclaimed in them the fear of God. If I said unto them, ' Children, 
cry to the Lord Jesus Christ,' their teeth were instantly set. If I said 
yet, c Child, look unto him,' their eyes were instantly pulled so far into 
their heads, that we feared they could never have used them any 
more. 



OF STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 19 

" It was the eldest of these children that fell chiefly under my own 
observation. For I took her home to my own family, partly out of com- 
passion to her parents, but chiefly that I might be a critical eye-witness 
of things that would enable me to confute the Sadducism of this de- 
bauched age. Here she continued well for some days, applying her- 
self to action of industry or piety. 

But Nov. 28, 1680, she cried out OJi! they have found me out I and 
immediately she fell into her fits, wherein we often observed that she 
would cough up a ball as big as a small egg, into the side of her wind- 
pipe, that would near choke her, till by the stroking, and by drinking 
it, it was again carried down. 

When I prayed in the room, first her hands were, with a strong, 
tho' not even force, clapped upon her ears. And when her hands 
were, by our force, pulled away, she cried out, They make such a noise, 
I cannot hear a word! She complained that Glover's chain was upon 
her leg, and assaying to go, her gait was exactly such as the chained 
witcli had, before she died. When her tortures passed over, still frolics 
would succeed, wherein she would continue hours, yea, days together, 
talking perhaps never wickedly, but always wittily, beyond herself. 
And at certain provocations, her torments would renew upon her till 
we had left off to give them. Yet she frequently told us in these 
frolics, that if she might, steal or be drunk, she would be well imme- 
diately. She told us that she must go down to the bottom of our toell, 
('and we had much ado to hinder it,) for they said there was plate there, 
and they would bring her up safely again. 

We wondered at this ! for she had never heard that there was any 
plate there, and we ourselves, who had newly bought the house, were 
ignorant of it; but the former owner of the house just then coming in, 
told us, there had been plate for many years, lost at the bottom of the 
well. Moreover, one singular passion that attended her more than any 
other, was this, 

An invisible chain would be clapped about her, and she in much 
pain and fear, would cry out, when {they) began to put it on. Some- 
times, we would with our hands, knock it off, as it began to be fastened. 
But ordinarily, when it was on, she would bepulled out of her seat, with 
such violence towards the fire, that it was as much as one or two of us 
could do, to keep her out. Her eyes were not brought to be perpen- 
dicular to her feet, when she rose out of her seat, as the mechanism of 
the human body requires in them that rise. But she was dragged 
wholly by other hands, and if we stamped on the hearth, just between 
her and the fire, she screamed out, that by jarring the chair, we hurt 
her. 

I may add, that {they) put on an unseen rope, with a cruel noose 
about her neck, whereby she was choked until she was black in the 
face. And tho' it was got off, before it killed her, yet there were the 
red marks of it, and of a finger and a thumb near it, remaining to be 
seen afterwards. Furthermore, not only her own looking into the 



20 mather's ecclesiastical history. 

Bible, but if any one else in the room did it, wholly unlcnovm to her, 
she would fall into insufferable torments. 

A Quaker book being brought her, she could quietly read whole 
pages of it; only the name of God and Christ, she still skipped over, 
being unable to pronounce it, except sometimes stammering a minute 
or two, or more upon it. And when we urged her to tell what the 
word was, that she missed, she would say — I must not speak it, they say 
I must not, you know what it is : Tis G, and O, and D. But a book 
against Quakerism, {they) would not allow her to meddle with. Such 
books as it might have been profitable and edifying for her to read, 
and especially her Catechisms, if she did but offer to read a line in 
them, she would be cast into hideous convulsions, and be tossed about 
the house like a foot-ball. But books of jests, being shown her, she 
would read them well enough, and have cunning discants upon them. 
Popish books {they) would not hinder her from reading; but {they) 
would from reading books against Papacy. A book which pretends 
to prove there are no witches, was easily read by her. Only the 
names of devils- and witches must not be uttered. A book which 
proves that there are witches ; being exhibited unto her, she might 
not read it. And that story of Ann Cole about running to the rock al- 
ways threw her into sore confusions. 

Divers of these trials were made by many witnesses. But I, con- 
sidering there might be a snare in it, put a seasonable stop to this 
fanciful business. Only I could not but be amused at one thing : A 
certain Prayer Book being brought her, she not only could read it 
very well, but did also read a large part of it over, calling it her Bible, 
and putting a more than ordinary respect upon it. If she were going 
into her tortures, at the tender of this book, she would recover herself 
to read it. Only when she came to the Lord's Prayer, now and then 
occurring in that book, she would have her eyes put out, so that she 
must turn over a new leaf, and then she would read again. Whereas, 
also, there are Scriptures in that book, she would read them there, but 
if any one showed her the same Scriptures in the Bible, she would 
sooner die than read them. And she was likewise, made unable to 
read the psalms in an ancient Metre, which this Pagan Book had in 
the same Volume with it. 

Besides these there was another inexplicable thing in her condition. 
Every now and then, an invisible horse would be brought unto her, 
by those whom she called {them) and {her company) upon the approach 
of which, her eyes would be still closed up ; For said she, They say 1 
am a tale-bearer^ therefore they will not let me see them.. Hereupon, she 
would give a spring as on mounting an horse, and settling herself in a 
riding posture, she would in her chair, be agitated, as one sometimes 
ambling, sometimes trotting, and sometimes galloping, very furiously. 
In these motions, we could notj perceive that she was moved by the 
stress of her feet upon the ground, for often she touched it not. 
When she had rode for a minute or two, she would seem to be at a 



OF STRANGE PHENOMENA OP 17TH CENTURY. 21 

rendezvous with [them,) that were (her company,) and there she would 
hold a conversation with them, asking them many questions concern- 
ing herself (we gave her none of ours) and would have answers from 
them which indeed none buthersell perceived. Then would she return 
and inform us how they did intend to handle her for a day or two after- 
wards, and some other things that she inquired. Her horse would 
sometimes throw her with much violence, especially if any one stabbed 
or cut the air under her. But she would briskly mount again, and 
perform her fantastic journies, mostly in her chair, but sometimes, 
also, be carried from her chair, out of our room into another, very 
oddly in the posture of a riding woman. At length she pretended 
that her horse could ride up the stairs, and unto our admiration, she 
rode, (that is, was tossed as one that rode,) up the stairs. There she 
then stood upon the study of one belonging to the family. Into 
which, entering, she stood immediately upon her feet, and cried out, 
They are gone ! Tney are gone ! They say that they cannot — God wont 
let 'em come here ; adding a reason for it, which the owner of the study, 
thought more kind than true : And she presently and perfectly came 
to herself, so that her who T e discourse and carriage was altered, into 
the greatest measure of sobriety, and she sat reading of the Bible and 
other good books for a good part of the afternoon. Her affairs calling 
her anon, to go down again, the demons were in a quarter of a minute 
as bad upon her as before, and her horse was waiting for her. Some 
then, to see whether there had not been a fallacy in what had newly 
happened, resolved for to have her up into the study, where she had 
been at ease before. But she was so strangely distorted, that it was 
with an extreme difficulty to drag her up stairs. The demons would 
pull her out of the people's hands and make her heavier than perhaps 
three of herself. With incredible toil, tho' she kept screaming, They 
say Imust not go in, she was pulled in, where she was no sooner got, 
but she could stand on her feet, and with an uttered note say, Noiv 1 
am well. 

She would be faint at first, and say that she felt something to go 
out of her ! (the noises whereof, we sometimes heard, like those of a 
mouse,) but in a minute or two, she could apply herself to devotion, 
and express herself with discretion, as well as ever in her life. To 
satisfy some strangers, the same experiment was divers times, with 
the same success, repeated, until my lothness to have any thing done 
like making a charm of a room, caused me to forbid the repetition of 
it. But enough of this. The ministers of Boston and Charlestown 
kept another day of prayer, with fasting, for Goodwin's afflicted fam- 
ily. After which, the children had a sensible but a gradual abatement 
of their sorrows, until perfect ease was at length restored un:o them. 
The young woman dwelt at my house during the rest of the winter, 
having, by a virtuous conversation, made herself enough welcome to 
the family. But ere long, I thought it convenient for me to entertain 
my congregation with a sermon on the memorable Providence 
wherein these children had been concerned, (afterwards published.) 



22 matiier's ecclesiastical history 

When I had begun to study my sermon, her tormentors again seized 
ou her, and managed her with a special design, as it was plain, to 
disturb me in what I was then about. 

In the worst of her extravagances formerly, she Was more dutiful 
to myself than I had reason to expect ; but now, her whole carriage 
to me, was with a saudness which I was not used any where to be 
treated withal. She would knock at my study door, affirming that 
sojrc below would be glad to see me, though there was none that asked 
for me. And when I chid her for telling what was false, her answer 
was, Mrs. MatJier is always glad to sec you! She would talk to me 
with numberless impertinences ! And when I came down, she would 
throw things at me, tho' none of them would ever hurt me. And she 
would hector me at a strange rate for something I was doing above, 
and threaten me with mischief and reproach that should revenge it. 
Few tortures now attended her but such as were provoked. Her 
frolics were numberless, if we may call them hers. I was, in Latin, 
telling some young gentlemen that if 1 should bid her look to God, 
her eyes would be put out. Upon which, her eyes were presently 
served so. Perceiving that her troublers understood Latin, some 
trials were thereupon made to see if they understood Greek and 
Hebrew, which it seems they did, but the Indian language they did not 
seem so well to understand. 

When we went unto prayer, the demons would throw her upon the 
floor at the feet of him that prayed, where she would whistle and 
sing, and would fetch blows with her fist, and kicks with her feet at 
the man that prayed. But still, her fist and foot would always recoil 
when they came within an inch or two of him, as if rebounding 
against a wall, and then she would beg hard of other people to strike 
him, which (you may be sure) not being done, she cried out, He lias 
wounded vie in the head. But before the prayer was over, she would 
be laid for dead, wholly senseless, and (unto all appearance) breath- 
less, with her belly swelled like a drum, and sometimes with croaking 
noises in her. Thus would she lie most exactly with the stiffness and 
posture of one that had been for two days laid out for dead. Once 
lying thus, as he that was praying, was alluding to the words of the 
Canaauitess, and saying, Lord, have mercy on a daughter vexed, with a 
devil, there came a big, but low voice, from her, in which the spec- 
tators did not see her mouth to move, There's two or. three of us. 
When prayer was ended, she would revive in a minute, or two, and 
continue as frolicsome as ever. 

She thus continued until Saturday towards the evening, when she 
assayed, with as nimble and various and pleasant an application as could 
easily be used for to divert the young folks in the family from such 
exercises as it was proper to meet the Sabbath withal. But they 
refusing to be diverted, she fell fast asleep, and in two or three hours 
waked perfectly herself, weeping bitterly to remember what had 
befallen her. When Christmas arrived, both she at my house, and 
her sister at home, were by the demons made very drunk, tho' we 



OF STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 23 

are fully satisfied they had no strong drink to make them so ; nor 
would they willingly have been so, to have gained the world. When 
she began to feel herself drunk she complained, O ! they say they will 
have me to keep Christinas with them ; They will disgrace me when they 
can do nothing else. And immediately, the ridiculous behaviors of one 
drunk, were, with wondrous exactness, represented in her speaking, 
and reeling and spewing and anon sleeping, till she was well again. At 
last, the demon put her upon saying that she was d,ying, and the 
matter proved such, that we feared she really was, for she lay, she 
tossed, she pulled just like one dying, and urged hard for some one to 
die with her, seeming loth to die aolne. She urged concerning death, 
with paraphrases on the thirty-first Psalm, in strains that quite amazed 
us ; And concluded that tho' she was loth to die, yet if God said she 
must, she must! Adding that the Indians would quickly shed much 
blood in the country, and 'horrible tragedies ' would be acted in the 
land. Thus the vexations of the children ended. 

But after awhile they began again, and then one particular minister 
taking a particular compassion on the family, set himself to serve them, 
in the methods prescribed by our Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly, 
the Lord being besought thrice in three days of prayer, with fasting 
on this occasion, the family then saw their deliverance perfected, and 
the children afterward, all of them, not only approved themselves 
devout Christians, but unto the praise of God, reckoned these their 
afflictions among the special incentives to their Christianity. 

The ministers of Boston and Charlcstown, afterwards, accompanied 
the printed Narrative of these things, with their attestation to the 
truth of it. And when it was reprinted at London, the famous Mr. 
Baxter prefixed a preface unto it, wherein he says, This great instance 
comes with such convincing evidence that he must be a very obdurate Saddu- 
cee, that will not believe it. 

" THE TENTH EXAMPLE. 

" William Davies, with nine sailors, whereof, one was a negro, and 
one boy, and one passenger, sailed out of Boston, Dec. 28, 1695, in 
the ship called the Margaret, of about eighty tons, bound for Barba- 
does, laden with fish, beef, and a small parcel of lumber. Within a 
few days, one of the sailors, named Winlock Curtis, being at the helm, 
about 8 o'clock at night, called unto the Captain, telling him that he 
could ' steer no longer,' whereof, when the Captain asked him the 
reason, he besought the Captain to think him 'neither drunk nor 
mad,' and then added, " that he had but a little time to tarry 
here,' constantly affirming therewithal, that a spirit appearing by the 
Biddekel, accused him of' killing' a woman (which the sailor said that 
lie had left alive) and reported unto him, that the rest of the ship's 
company had signed the BOOK, which he was, from that argument, 
now urged also to sign. The sailor declared his resolution that he 
would never hearken to the devil, and requested that he might be 
furnished with a Bible, in the reading whereof, he was, at first, greatly 



24 Mather's ecclesiastical history 

interested ; but at length, he was unable distinctly to read it. On the 
day following, he was suddenly and violently seized in an unaccounta- 
ble manner, and furiously throicn down upon the deck, where he lay 
wallowing in a great agony, and foamed at the mouth, and grew 
black in the face, and was near strangled with a great lump rising in 
his neck nigh his throat, like that which bewitched ox possessed people 
used to be attended withal. Tn a few days, he came a little to himself; 
but still behaved himself as one under the power of some devil ; talk- 
ing of the visions which he saw in the air ; and of a spirit coming for 
him in a boat. The ship's company, to prevent his going overboard to 
that invisible spirit, which he attempted once to do ; confined him to 
his Cabin, and there tied him and bound him, so that they thought 
that they had him fast enough. But soon he came forth without noise, 
to their great astonishment. He then fell into a sleep, wherein he 
continued for twenty-four hours, after which he came to himself, and 
remained very sensible, giving a very particular narrative of the odd 
circumstances which he had been in, and calling for * pen and ink, for 
to write them down.' But he put off doing it until the ship, then 
under a fresh gale, should be a little quieter, and so it came to be 
altogether neglected. 

Upon Jan. 17, in the North Lat. 19, sailing S. W. with a fresh gale 
East, and E. by S. about 9 at night, a small white cloud arose without 
any rain, or any extraordinary increase of wind, which falling upon 
the ship immediately pressed her down to starboard at once. And the 
hatches flying out, she was immediately so full of water that it was 
impossible to recover her. If she had not been laden with lumber, 
she must have sunk to the bottom ; Whereas, now being full of 
water which drowned the boy sleeping in the Cabin, she was righted, 
but floated along overflowed with the sea; after this, for eleven weeks 
together, there happened the ensuing passages. 

First, within a few days one Mr. Dibbs, the passenger who formerly 
had been very undaunted, and courageous, began to talk oddly of 
several persons in Barbadoes, adding 'that one stood at the mainmast, 
who came for him with a wherry.' And soon after this, he was gone 
insensibly, none knowing -when or liow. About a fortnight after this, 
one John Jones was, in the same insensible manner carried away, and 
so was the above-mentioned Winlock Curtis. Within about a fort- 
night more, one of their number died through the unconquerable 
difficulties of the voyage. And about a fortnight further, the negro 
sitting as not in his right mind, and another sailor were in the night 
insensibly carried away. About a week after, one Sterry Lion, the 
Carpenter, not being in any disorder of mind at all, often spoke of his 
end being at hand, and that it would be by a wave of the sea pitching 
him away. Him they saw carried away by a wave about 9 o'clock in 
the morning. 

All this while theirs/bod was only flesh, which they ate raw, because 
they could now have no fire, and fresh fish which in great quantities 
came into the vessel unto them. At several times, and especially 



OR STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 25 

before the taking away of any of their number, they heard various 
and wondrous noises like the voices of birds, as turkeys and other 
fowl. While they were in this condition, they saw three vessels, and 
judged that all the three saw them. Nevertheless none came a-near 
them to relieve them. Their lodging was on two boards, placed 
athwart the sail near the taffrail, coyered with a sail. And the first 
land they discovered was Desiado, but a northerly current hindered 
their landing there. The next land was Grand Tena, but the wind in 
the north, hindered their landing there, also. At last, with a little 
sail, being reduced to three in number, they ran their ship ashore at 
Gaudalupa, the 6th of Aprt , about 2 o'clock on Monday morning, 
where the French kindly entertained them, not as prisoners, but as trav- 
ellers. Thence they came to Barbadoes, and there they made oath 
to the truth of this Narrative. 

"THE ELEVENTH EXAMPLE. 

"Reader, into this chapter, with too much of reason, may be tran. 
scribed a passage which I have had occasion formerlyto publish in a 
book about the cause and cure for a wounded spirit. 

" 'There are many cruel self-murders, whereunto the wounds on peo- 
ple's consciences have driven them. Such as a consternation is upon them 
that they can't pitch upon any other project for their own repose than 
that of hanging, drowning, stabbing, poisoning, or some such foaming 
piece of madness. But in God's name, think again, before you do so 
vile a thing ! Think, by whose impulse 'tis that you are dragged into 
this curs'd action. Truly 'tis a more than ordinary impulse of the- 
devil, whereof I have seen most prodigious evidences. 

"'One that came to me with a wounded soul, after all that I could 
plead with him, left me with these words — Well, the devil will have me 
after all! And some company just then hindering me from going 
after him as I intended, ere I could get at him, he was found sitting in 
his chamber, choked unto death with a rope, which rope, nevertheless, 
was found, not about his neck, but in his hand and on his knee. 

" * The sensible assistance which the devil has frequently, among us 
given to those unnatural executions, does manifestly show, that they 
who dogged the swine into the deep of old, are the same that compel 
persons to be so much worse than swine as to kill themselves. These 
doleful creatures, we have seen sometimes hang themselves to death, 
while their feet are yet upon the ground ; yea, by a line which hath 
presently broken, and yet left them dead. And I think, some that 
have been found and fetched before their life was wholly extinguished 
in them, have confessed unto me, to this purpose: That they had no 
sooner given the first stop unto their breath, but they presently lost all 
sort of sense ; only they felt such a load immediately upon their 
shoulders, that they could not help themselves, tho' their kness were 
upon the floor all the while. 

" ' Moreover, the strange obstructions that are given to men's 



26 mather's ecclesiastical history 

coming into a probability of deliverance, from their hurries, do further 
manifest that the armies of hell are herein beleaguering of them. How 
often have people been at a minister's door to have spoken with him, 
but having no power to 'knock,' they have gone away, and laid violent 
hands upon themselves ! People at the threshold of the very meeting 
house, have had a forcible and furious whisper made into their minds, 
that they must be gone to some other congregation : But at length, 
overcoming their invisible pull-backs, they have come in ; and a large 
part of my sermon hath been to dissuade any hurried souls from the 
murdering of themselves ; which God has blessed unto the saving of 
them. It seems the bloody 'demons' had, unto their vexation, some 
way learnt, what I was to preach about. The result of all is this 
much, since 'tis the devil which puts you upon thus wronging 
of yourselves, don't resign yourselves unto the conduct of that 
hellish murderer. Are the devil's hands, I pray, so desirable, that 
you will needs throw yourselves into them, while the hand of the 
Saviour are yet open to receive you ? to relieve you % Oh do thyself 
no harm ! 

"the twelfth example. 

Strange premonitions of death approaching, are matters of such 
frequent occurrence in history, that one is ready to look upon them as 
matters of no uncommon occurrence. The learned know, that 
seutonius hardly lets one of his twelve Ccesars die without them; and 
the vulgar talk of them as things happening^ every day, amongst their 
smaller neighbors. 

" Even within a fortnight of my writing this, there was a physician 
who sojourned within a furlong of my own house. This physician 
was, for three nights miserably distressed with dreams of his being 
drowned. On the third of these nights, his dreams were so trouble- 
some that he was cast mto extreme sweats, by struggling under the 
imaginary water. With the sweats still upon him, he came down 
from his chamber, telling the people of the family, what it was that so 
discomposed him. Immediately there came in two friends, that asked 
him to go a little distance with them, in a boat upon the water. He 
was, at first, afraid of gratifying the request of his friends, because of 
his late passage. But it being a calm time, he recollected himself, 
'Why should I mind my dreams, or mistrust the divine providence V 
He went with them, and before 9 o'clock, by a thunder storm sud- 
denly coming up, they were all three of thenr drownod. 

" I have just now inquired into the truth of what I have thus related 
and I can assert it. 

"But 'apparitions' after death, when they occur, have more ot 
strangeness in them. And yet they have been often seen in this land : 
Particularly, persons that died abroad at sea, having within a day after 
their death, been seen by their friends in their houses at home. The 
sights have occasioned much notice, and much discourse at the very 



OP STRANGE PHENOMENA OF THE 17TH CENTURY. 27 

time of them, and records have been kept of the time. (Reader, I 
write but what has fallen within my own personal observation). And 
it hath been afterwards found, that they died near that very time when 
they thus appeared. 

" I will, from several instances which I have known of this thing, 
single out one that shall have in it, much of demonstration, as well as 
of particularity. 

"It was on the 2d of May, 1687, that an ingenious, accomplished 
and well disposed young gentleman, Mr. Joseph Beacon by name, 
about 5 o'clock in the morning, as he lay, whether sleeping or waking, 
he could not say, (but judged the latter of them,) had a view of his 
brother then at London, though he was himself at our Boston ; distance 
from home, a thousand leagues. This, his brother appeared to him in 
the morning, (I say,) about 5 o'clock, at Boston, having on him a Ben- 
gale gown which he usually wore, with a napkin tied about his head. 
His countenance was very pale, ghastly, deadly, and he had a bloody 
wound on one side of his forehead. 'Brother!' says the affrighted 
Joseph. 'Brother !' answers the apparition. Said Joseph, 'What's the 
matter, Brother 1 How came you here?' 'I have been most bar- 
berously and inhumanely murdered, by a debauched fellow, to whom, 
I never did any wrong in my life.' Whereupon, he gave a very parti- 
cular description of the murderer, adding, 'Brother ! this fePow chang- 
ing his name, is attempting to come over unto New England, in the 
Fay or Wild : I would pray you, on the first arrival of either of these 
to get an order from the Governor, to seize the person whom I have 
now described, and then d^> you indict him for the murder of me, your 
brother. I'll stand by you and prove the indictment.' And so he 
vanished. Mr. Beacon was exceedingly astonished at what he had 
seen and heard : And the people of the family not only observed an 
extraordinary alteration upon him, for the week following, but have 
also, given me under their hands, a full testimony that he then gave 
them as an account of this apparition. All this'while, Mr. Beacon had 
no advice of anything amiss attending his brother then in England. 
But about the latter end of June following, he understood by the com- 
mon ways of communication, that the April before, his brother going 
in haste by night, to call a coach for a lady, met a fellow then in drink, 
with his Doxy in his hand. Some way or other, the fellow thought 
himself affronted, in the hasty passage of this Beacon, and immediately 
ran in to the fire-side of a neighboring tavern, from whence he fetched 
out a fire-fork, wherewith he grievously wounded Beacon on the skull, 
even that very part where the apparition showed his wound. With 
this wound he languished till he died on the 2d oiMay, about 5 o'clock 
in the morning at London. The murderer, it seems attempted an 
escape, as the apparition affirmed, but the friends of the deceased 
Beacon, seized him and prosecuted him at law, yet he found the help of 
such friends as brought him off without the loss of his life, since which 
there has no more been heard of the business. 

" This history, I received of Mr. Joseph Beacon himself, who a 



28 mather's ecclesiastical history 

little before his own pious and hopeful death, which followed not long 
after, gave me the story written and signed with his own hand, and at- 
tested with the circumstances I have already mentioned. 

"I know not how far the reader will judge it agreeable with the 
matters related in this article, If I do insert,— But I will here insert a 
passage which I find thus entered among my own adversar 
"14d. 2m. 1684. 

u< Mr. J. C. a Deacon of the Church in Ckarlestoum, told me that 
his wife having been sick, for divers months, was, on the 31st of 
August last, seized with the pangs of death ; in which, being delirious, 
and asking divers times, 'who would go with her, whether she was 
going]' At length, she said, 'Well my son Robert will go,' and ad- 
dressing her speech thereupon, as unto him, she expressed her satis- 
faction that they should go together. This son of hers, was at this 
time in Barbadoes,* and his friends here, have since learnt, that he 
also, died there, and this, at the very hour when his mother here gave 
up the ghost, and (which is further odd,) not without the like express- 
ions, concerning his mother, that his mother had concerning him. 

"THE THIRTEENTH EXAMPLE. 

In this present evil world, it is no wonder that the operations of the 
evil angels are more sensible than of the good ones. Nevertheless, 
'tis very certain that the good angels continually, without any defile- 
ment, fly about in our defiled atmosphere, to minister for the good of 
them that are to be the heirs of salvation. 9 

The natives of heaven, as Dr. Fuller phraseth it, grudge not to guard 
those who are only free denizens thereof. The excellent Rivet, hath 
well explained what is to be believed of this matter. 'That every one 
of them who shall be heirs of salvation, hath, besides what may be 
with him on extraordinary occasions, always one particular angel 
with him, which is a probable truth, and not against the Scriptures. 
Albeit, we cannot from thence infer that it is always the same angel. 
Now, tho' the angelic ministration is usually behind the curtain of 
more visible instruments and their actions, yet sometimes, it hath been 
with extraordinary circumstances, made more obvious to the sense of 
the faithful. Of all that hath occurred in this land, this only shall be 
expressed.' 

u I find in the Diary of my Dear and Reverend and excellent friend, 
Mr. John Bailey, a wonderful passage, concerning his eminently pious 
wife, who died at our 'Watertown,' which I will here transcribe. 

"'April 14, 1691, she was dying all day. Towards sunset, she said 
unto me especially, and also unto others, that we had done her the 
greatest diskindnessthat she had met with since she was born, in keeping 
her back, and not delivering her up to God in Christ, whom she loved 

*West Indies. 



OP STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 29 

above all, and longed to be withal.. She begged, as for her life, that we 
would, and I, especially, take off our love wholly from her, and give 
our all to the Lord Jesus Christ, as she had often done, and was wil- 
liug again to do. She would never be quiet till I promised before all 
those witnesses present, (which were many,) and before the holy 
angels, who she desired would seal to it, with their golden seals, that 
I would be willing to part with her and let her go, and that I would 
give my all up to the Lord Jesus Christ, (even herself and everything 
else,) which in the name of Christ, I promised to labor to be willing, 
and I would be willing to do. 

" This gave her some content, and she said that God had appeared 
unto her, and that she was full of the joys of the Holy Ghost, and that 
she had whole floods of the love of God in her soul, and she could not 
stand under it. She often said that she had rivers of joy, and that she 
could scatter it about the town, and that all this was to her, the worst 
of sinners : and that it was not only undeserved, but also unexpected. 
She desired every one to take care of slighting the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and she assured them that if they entertained him they should be as 
full of love and joy as she. And she advised them to give up all 
unto God, and make much of him, for there was none like him ; and 
as long as she had a tongue, or a breath, she would praise him : And 
she asked us all, that if vte would not, or could not praise him on our 
own account, yet we would do it on hers ; for she was top-full, brim- 
full, and running over. She said, death had no terror at all in it, but 
she could as freely die a3 ever she went to sleep. She said, ' I de- 
serve none of this love, but if Christ will give it, who can hinder it? 
Go to him, he is no niggard ; he has love and grace enough for you all. 
I cannot bear it, it is so heavy ! Ah ! said she, my poor husband, 
tho' a disconsolate man, Jesus Christ will fill him with all this love 
before he dies : and he will fill you all, if it be not your own fault.' 
She said unto me ; ' If any body want me, [still to live,] this poor man 
will ; yet, as well as I love him, and I love him better than ever, and 
shall bless God through all eternity for him ; yet I would not be hired 
by millions of worlds to live another day or an hour with him, from 
Christ. And yet, if God would have me live, I would live. This 
hour is the happiest hour that ever I had since my mother bound my 
head.' There was never such an instance of Free Grace, as I am per- 
suaded, since the world begun ! Let all take notice to the glory of 
Free Grace, 'that I go off the stage, nobly and honorably.' She 
said, 'that she was going to the Lord, and if thousands of devils should 
tell her otherwise, she would not believe them. God had now made 
her amends for all the troubles she had met withal, in the world.' 
She then desired that we would sing some Psalm of praise to- the 
riches of Free Grace. Harps were hanged upon the willows, we 
did it not, yet there was melodious singing at that very time ! I heard 
it myself, but intended never to speak of it, until the Nurse, B. and M. 
S. spoke of it. They went unto the fire, thinking it was there ; but 



30 Mather's ecclesiastical history. 

they heard it best when within the curtains. God, by his holy angels, 
put an honor upon my Dear little woman, and by it, to reprove us, that 
seeing we would not sing, (being bad at it,) they would* 

"the fourteenth example. 

" To conclude our Wonders of the Invisible World, there will 
doubtless, be expected an account of the Wonders that afflicted New 
England, in 1692. Now, having in my hands, a most unexceptionable 
account thereof, written by Mr. J. Hales, I will here content myself 
with the transcribing of it. And I will assure the reader, that he hath 
now to do with a writer, who would not for a world, be guilty of 
overdoing the truth, in a history of this importance. 



Copied by Mr. Mather from Mr. Hale's MSS. 

"SADDUCISMUS DEBELLUTUS. 

"§ 1. In the latter end of the year 169/, Mr. Paris, Pastor of the 
church in Salem village, had a daughter of about nine, and a neice of 
about eleven years of age, sadly afflicted of they knew not what dis- 
tempers : And tho' he made his application to Physicians, yet still they 
grew worse. At length, one Physician gave his opinion, that they 
were under an evil hand. This, the neighbors took up, and concluded 
that they were 'bewitched.' He had also, an Indian man-servant, and 
his wife, who afterwards confessed, that without the knowledge of 
their Master or Mistress, they had taken some of the afflicted person s 
water and mixing it with meal, had made a cake and baked it, to find 
out the witch as they 'said. After this, the afflicted persons cried out 
of the Indian woman, named Tituba, that she did pinch, prick, and 
greviously torment them, and that they saw her here and there, where 
no body else could ; yea, they could tell where she was, and what she 
did when out of their human sight. These children were bitten and 
pricked by invisible agents, their arms, necks and "backs turned this 
way and that way, and returned back again, so as it was impossible 
for them to do of themselves, and beyond the power of any epileptick 
fits, or natural diseases to effect. 

" Sometimes, they were taken dumb ; their mouths stopped, their 
throats choked, their limbs racked and tormented, so as might move 
an heart of stone to sympathise with them, with bowels of compassion 
for them. I will not .enlarge in* the description of their cruel suffer- 
ings, because they were in all things afflicted, as bad as John Good- 
win's children at Boston, in 1689, so that he that will read Mr. Ma- 
ther's book of Memorable Providences, may read part of what these 
children, and afterwards, sundry grown persons suffered by the hand 



* And yet Jame-s " Pare Religion," &c. (James 1: 27,) is preferable to joyous 
feelings, if alone. — J. 



OP STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17tH CENTt/RY. 31 

of Satan, at Salem Village, and parts adjacent, A. D. 1691-2. Yet 
there was more in these sufferings than in those at Boston, by 'pins' 
invisibly stuck into their flesh, pricking with irons, &c, as in part 
published in a book, printed 1693, viz. 'The Wonders of the Invisible 
World.' 

Mr. Paris seeing the distressed condition of his family, desired the 
presence of some worthy gentlemen of Salem, and some neigbor min- 
isters to consult together at his house, who, when they came, and had 
inquired diligently into the sufferings of the afflicted, concluded they 
were preternatural, and feared the hand of Satan was upon them. 

" § 2. The advice given to Mr. Paris about them, was that he should 
sit still and wait upon the providence of God, to see what time might 
discover, and to be much in prayer for the discovery of what was yet 
secret. They also examined Tituba, who confessed the making of a 
cake as is above mentioned, and said her Mistress in her own country 
was a witch, and had taught her some means to be used for the dis- 
covery of a witch, and for prevention of being bewitched : but said 
that she herself was not a witch. 

" § 3. Soon after this, there were two or three fasts at the ministers 
house, one of which was kept by sundry neighbors, and after this 
another in public, at the village, and several .days afterwards of public 
humiliation, during these molestations, not only there, but in other con- 
gregations for them, and one general fast, by order of the General 
Court, observed throughout the Colony, to seek the Lord that he 
would rebuke Satan, and be a light unto his people in this day of 
darkness. But I return to these troubles. In a short time after, other 
persons who were of age to be witnesses, were molested by Satan, and 
in their fits, cried out upon Tituba and Goody O. and S. G. that they 
or spectres in their shape, did grievously torment them. Some of their 
Village neighbors complained unto the Magistrates at Salem, desiring 
that they would come and examine the afflicted and the accused 
together : which they did. The effect of which examination was, 
that Tituba confessed that she was a witch, and that she, with the two 
others accused, did torment and bewitch the complainers, and that 
she, with the two others, whose names she knew not, had their witch 
meetings together ; relating the times when, and places where they 
met, .with many other circumstances elswhere to be seen at large. 
Upon this, the said Tituba and O. and G. were committed upon suspi- 
cion of acting witchcraft. After, this, the said Tituba was again ex- 
amined in prison, and owned her first confession in all points, and then 
was she herself afflicted, and complained of her fellow witches torment- 
ing of her for her confession, and accusing them, and being searched 
by a woman, she was found to have upon her body the marks of the 
devil wounding her. 

11 § 4. Here were three things which rendered her confession ere* 
dible. 

"1 — That she answered every question just as she did at first, and 
it was thought that if she had feigned her confessions, she could not 



32 Mather's ecclesiastical history. 

have remembered her answers so exactly. A liar, we say, had need 
have a good memory. But truth being always consistent with itself, is 
always the same to day it was yesterday. 

" 2 — -She seemed very penitent for her sin in covenanting with the 
devil. 

" 3 — She became a sufferer herself, and as she said, for her con- 
fession. 

" 4— Her confession agreed (which was afterwards verified in the 
other confessions) with the accusations of the afflicted. 

" Soon after, these afflicted persons complained of other persons 
afflicting of them in their fits, — the afflicted and the accused began to 
increase. And the success of Tituba's confession encouraged them in 
authority, to examine others that were suspected, and the event was, 
that many more confessed themselves guilty of the crimes they were 
suspected for* And thus was the matter driven on. 

"§ 5. I observed that in the prosecution of these affairs, that there 
was, in the ' Justices, Judges,' and others convened, a conscientious 
endeavor to do the thing that was right, and to that end, they consult- 
ed the precedents of former times, and precepts laid down by learned 
writers, about ' Witchcraft,' as * Keeble' on the ' Common Law,' 
* Chapt,' ? Conjuration ;' (an author approved by the twelve Judges of 
our nation.) Also ' Sir Matthew Hale's Trials of Witches,' printed A. 
D., 1682, • Glanville's Collection of Sundry Trials, in England and 
Ireland, in the year 1658, '61, '63, '64, and '81.' 'Bernard's Guide 
to Jurymen,' ' Baxter's and R. B., their Histories about Witches, and 
their Discoveries,' ' C. Mather's Memorable Providences, relating to 
Witchcraft, Printed 1685,' 

" § 6. But that which chiefly carried on this matter to such an height, 
was the increasing of confessors, until they amounted to near upon 
fifty : and four or« six of them, upon their trials, owned their guilt of 
this crime, and were condemned for the same, but not executed. And 
many of the confessors confirmed their confessions with strong circum- 
stances, such as their exact agreement, with the ' accusations' of the 
afflicted — their punctual agreement with their fellow confessors — their 
relating the times when they covenanted with Satan — the reasons that 
moved them thereunto — their witch meetings, and that they had their 
mock sacraments of Baptism and the Supper, in some of- them; 
signing the devil's book, and some shewed the scars of the wounds, 
which they said, were made to fetch blood with, to sign the devil's 
book ; and some said, they had imps to suck them, and showed sores 
Taw, where they said, they were sucked by them. 

" § 7. I shall give the reader a taste of these things, in a few instan- 
ces. The afflicted complained that the spectres which vexed them, 
urged them to set their hands to a book, presented to them (as to 
them it seemed) with threatenings of great torments if they signed not, 
and promises of ease if they obeyed. Among these D. H. as she 
said, (with sundry others confessed afterwards,) being overcome by 
the extremity of her pains, did sign the book presented, and had the 



OP STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 33 

promised ease, and immediately upon it, a spectre in her shape, afflict' 
ed another person, and said, ' I have signed the book, and have ease ; 
Now you sign, and so shall you have ease !' And one day this afflict- 
ed person pointed at a certain place, in the room, and said, 'There is 
D. H.' Upon which, a man with his rapier struck at the place, 
though he saw no shape, and the * afflicted' called out, saying, * You 
have given her a small prick about the eye.' Soon after this the said 
' D. H.' confessed herself to be made a witch by signing the devil's 
book, as above said, and declared that she had afflicted the maid, that 
complained of her, and in doing it, had received * two wounds, by a 
sword or rapier,' a small one about the eye, which she showed to the 
magistrates, and a bigger, on the side, of which, she was searched by 
a discreet woman, who reported that D. H. had on her side, the 
sign of a wound newly healed. This D, H. confessed that she was 
at a \ witch* meeting at ' Salem Village,' where were many persons 
that she named ; some of whom, were in prison then, or soon after, 
upon suspicion of witchcraft, and she said, G. B. preached to them, 
and such a woman was their Deacon, and there they had a sacrament. 

" § 8. Several others after this, confessed the same things, with D. 
H. in particular. Goody F. said, that she with two others (one of 
whom acknowledged the same) rode from Andovey, to the Salem 
Village witch-meeting, upon a stick above the ground, and on the 
way, the stick broke, and gave the said F. a fall, * whereby,' said she, 
* I got a fall and hurt, of which, I am with sore.' I happened to be. 
present in the prison, when this ' T.' owned again, her former confes- 
sion, to the magistrates. 1 asked her, if she rode to meeting on a 
stick, she said, ' yea !' I inquired what ' she' did for victuals 1 She 
answered that, she carried bread and cheese in her pocket, and that 
she and the Andover company came to the village before the meet- 
ing began, and sat down together under a tree, and ate their food, 
and that they drank water out of a brook to quench their thirst, and 
that the meeting was upon a plain grassy place, by which, was a cart 
path, in which, were the tracks of horses' feet ; and she also told 
me how long they were going and returning : and sometime after she 
told me that * she' had some trouble upon her spirit ; and when I en- 
quired, What? she said, that she was in fear lhat G. B. and M. C. 
would kill her, for they appeared unto her (in spectre, for their 
persons were kept in other worms, in the prison,) and brought a 
sharp pointed iron, like a spindle but four square, and threatened to 
stab her to death, because she had confessed her witchcraft, and told 
of them, that they were with her, and M. C. was the person that 
made her a witch. About a month after, the said T. took occasion 
to tell me the same story, that G, B. and E. C. would kill her, so 
that the thing was much on her spirit. 

" § 9. It was not long before M. L., daughter of the said F. con- 
fessed that she rode with her mother to the said witch meeting, and 
confirmed the substance of her mother's confession. At another time, 
M, L. Junior, the grand] daughter, aged about 17 years, confesses 



34 mather's ecclesiastical history 

the substance of what her grand mother and mother had related, and 
declares, that when they, with E. C. rode on a stick, or pole in the 
air; she, the said grand daughter, with R. C, rode upon another, 
(and the said R. C. acknowledged the same.) and that they set their 
hands to the devil's book, and (Interalia) said 'O! mother, why did 
you give me the devil, twice or thrice over 1 ? The mother said, she 
was sorry at the heart for it, it was through the wicked one. Her 
daughter bade her repent and call upon God, and said, ' O ! mother, 
your wishes are now come to pass, for how often have you wished that 
the devil would fetch me away alive !' and then said, ' O ! my heart 
will break within- me !' Then she wept bitterly, crying out, ' O ! Lord, 
comfort me, and bring out all the witches.' And she said to her grand 
mother, O ! grand mother, do not deny it.' Then the grand mother 
gave account of several things, about their confederates, and acts of 
witchcraft, too long to rehearse. Moreover, another declared that she 
with widow S. went to Capt. W. S. and the said S. gave him a blow 
with a great stick, and yet, was to him invisible. Capt. W. declared 
he had a sore blow, as with a great stick, but saw nobody. The widow 
S. denied that she struck him. Then M. P., the confessor, boldly look- 
ed up into his face, and said, ' Goody S. you know you did strike him, 
and I saw you do it,' and then told the manner how it was done, and 
how they came to him and returned. 

" § 10. Next, I will insert the confession of a man about forty years 
of age, W. G., which he wrote himself in prison, and sent to the ma- 
gistrates, to confirm his former confession to them. 

" f God having called me to confess my sin and apostacy in that fall, 
in giving the devil the advantage over me, appearing to me like a 
black, in the evening, to set my hand to his book, as I have owned to 
my shame. He told me that I should not want, in so doing. At Salem 
village, there, being a little off the meeting house, at a meeting about an 
hundred fine blades, some with rapiers by their sides, which was called 
(and might be more for aught I know) by B. and B., and the trumpet 
sounded, and they had bread and wine which they called the sacra- 
ment ; but 1 had none, being carried over, all upon a stick, I never 
being at any other meeting. I being at cart Saturday last, all the day, 
of hay and English corn, the devil brought my shape to Salem, and 
did afflict M. S. and R. F, by clinching my hand. And on Sabbath day 
my shape afflicted A. M., and at night, afflicted M. S. and A. M. E. 
J. and A. F. have been my enticers to this great abomination, as one 
hath owned and charged her other sister with the same. And the de- 
sign was to destroy Salem village, and to begin at the minister's 
house, and to destroy the churches of God, and to set up Satan's 
kingdom, and then all will be well. And now I hope that God hath 
in some degree, made me sensible of my sin and apostacy ; begging 
pardon of God, and of the honorable magistrates, and all God's people, 
hoping and promising by the help of God, to set. my heart and hand 
to do what in me lieth, to destroy such wicked worship, humbly beg- 
ging the prayers of God's people for me, that I may walk humbly un- 



OF STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 35 

der all the great affliction, and that I may procure to myself the sure 
mercies of David.' 

" Concerning this confession. Note 1. It was his own free act in 
prison. 2. He said, (' the devil like a black sheep.') This he had be- 
fore explained to be like a black man. 3. That on a certain day, was 
heard in the air the sound of a trumpet at Salem village, nigh the 
meeting house, and upon all inquiry, it conld not be found that any 
mortal men did sound it. 4. The three persons he saith, the devil in 
his shape afflicted, had been, as to the time and manner, afflicted as he 
confesseth. 5. This E. J. confessed as much VV. B. chargeth her with. 
6. Many others confessed a witch-meeting, or witch-meetings at the 
village, as well as he. 

" Note also. That these confessors did not only witness against 
themselves, but against one another, and against many, if not all those 
that suffered for that crime. As for example, when G. B. was tried, 
seven or eight of these confessors, severally called, said they knew the 
said B., and saw him ata witch-meeting at the village, and heard him ex- 
hort the company to pull down the kingdom of God and set up the king- 
dom of the devil. He denied all, yet said he justified the Judges and Jury 
in condemning of him, because there were so many positive witnesses 
against him, but said he died by false witnesses. M. C. had to witness 
against her, two or three of her own children, and several neigbors that 
said they were in confederacy with her in witchcraft. A. T. had three 
of her children, and some of the neighbors, her own sister, and a ser- 
vant who confessed themselves witches, and said she was in confedera- 
cy with them. But alas ! I am weary with relating particulars. Those 
that would see more of this kind, let them have recourse to the records. 

" § 11. By these things, you may see how this matter was carried 
on, viz. chiefly by the complaints and accusations of the afflicted, (be- 
witched ones, as it was supposed,) and then by the confessions of the 
accused, condemning themselves and others. Yet experience showed 
that the more there were apprehended, the more were still afflict- 
ed by Satan, and the number of confessors increasing, did but increase 
the number of the accused, and the executing of some, made way for 
the apprehending of others. For still the afflicted complained of be- 
ing tormented by new objects, as the former were removed. So that 
those who were concerned, grew amazed at the number and quality of 
the persons accused, and feared that Satan, by his wiles, had enwrap- 
ped innocent persons underthe imputation of that crime. And atlast, 
it was evidently seen, that there must be a stop put to the process, or 
the generation of the children of God would fall under that condemna- 
tion. Henceforth, therefore, the Juries generally acquitted such as 
were tried, fearing they had gone too far before. And Sir William 
Phips, the Governor, reprieved all that were condemned, even the 
confessors as well as others. And the confessors generally fell off 
from their confessions ; some saying, * They remembered nothing of 
what they had said.' Others said, \ They had belied themselves and 
others.' Some broke prison and ran away, and were not strictly 



36 MATHER'S ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 

searched after. Some acquitted, some dismissed, and one way or 
other, all that had been accused, were set or left at liberty. And al- 
though, had the time been calm, the condition of the confessors might 
have called for a a melius inquirendum ; yet, considering the combus- 
tion and confusion this matter had brought us into, it was thought safer 
to underdo than over-do, especially in matters capital, where, what 
is once completed, cannot be retrieved ; but what is left at one time, 
may be corrected at another upon a review and clearer discovery of 
the case. Thus, this matter issued somewhat abruptly. 

" § 12. It may be queried, How doth it appear, that there was a 
going too far in this affair. 

" Ans.— 1. By the numbers of persons accused, which had at length 
increased to about an hundred, and it cannot be imagined, that in a 
place of so much knowledge, so many in so small a compass of land, 
should abominably leap into the devil's lap all at once. 

"2. The quality of several of the accused, was such as did bespeak 
better things, and things that accompany salvation. Persons whose 
blameless and holy lives did testify for them. Persons that had taken 
great pains to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of 
the Lord ; such as we had charity for, as for our own souls ; and 
charity is a christian duty commended to us. 

" 3. The number of the afflicted daily increased, until about fifty 
person were thus vexed by the devil. This gave just ground to sus- 
pect some mistake which gave advantage to the accuser of the brethren, 
to make a breach upon us. 

"4. It was considerable, that nineteen were executed, and all denied 
the crime to the death ; and some of them were knowning persons, 
and had before this been accounted blameless livers. And it is not to 
be imagined, but that if all had been guilty, some would have had so 
much tenderness as to seek mercy for their souls, in the way of con- 
fession and sorrow for such a sin. And as for the condemned confes- 
sors, at the bar, (they being reprieved) we had no experience whether 
they would stand to their self condemning confessions when they came 
to die. 

" 5. When this prosecution ceased, the Lord so chained up Satan, 
that the afflicted grew presently well. The accused are generally 
quiet, and for five years since, we have had no such molestation by 
them. 

"6. It sways much with me, which I have since heard and read, of 
the like mistakes in other places. As in Suffolk in England, about the 
year 1645, was such a prosecution, until they saw that unless they put 
a stop to it would bring all into blood and confusion. The like hath 
been in France, until nine hundred were put to death. And in some 
other places the like. So that New England is not the only place 
circumvented by the wiles of the wicked and wily serpent in this 
kind. 

1 Wierus de Prestigiis Demonum, page 67S, relates that an inquisitor 
in the Subalpine Valleys, inquired after women witches and consumed 



OP STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 37 

above an hundred in the flames, and daily made new offerings to 
Vulcan, of those that needed hellebore more than fire, and referred 
the matter to the Bishop. Their husbands of good faith, affirmed 
that, in that very time, they (the accusers) said or' them, that they had 
played and danced under a tree, they were in bed with them, [their 
husbands.] 

u In Chelmsford in Essex, A. D. 1645, there were thirty tried at once 
before Judge Coniers, and fourteen of them hanged, and an hundred 
more detained in several prisons in Suffolk and Essex. 

" As to our case at Salem, I conceive it proceeded from some mis- 
taken principles, as that Satan cannot assume the shape of an inno- 
cent person, and in that shape, do mischief to the bodies and estates 
of mankind, and that the devil when he doth harm to persons, in their 
body or estate, it is (at least, most commonly, generally and fre- 
quently,) by the help of our neighbors, as some witch in covenant 
with the devil, and when the party suspected, looks on the parties 
supposed to be bewitched, and they are therfore struck down into fits, 
as if struck with a cudgel, it is a proof of such a covenant. Cum multh 



" The worthy author from whose manuscript I have transcribed this 
narrative, does there confute these mistaken principles, and in his 
confuting one, viz: ' That if the party suspected appear in spectre 
to the afflicted, and the afflicted give a blow with a knife, wound &c. 
(or some other on their behalf,) and the spectre seems wounded 
or bleeding, or to have their garment torn by the blow received, and 
the party spectrally represented, be presently searched, and there is 
found upon their body a wound or blood, even on the same part of 
their body, or a rent on the same part of the garment which appeared 
on the spectre to the afflicted ; this hath been accounted a strong evi- 
dence to prove the party suspected to be a confederate with Satan in 
afflicting the complainer. He hath divers notable passages. One of 
them, is this : 

" ' The person or garment so suspected to the afflicted by the spec- 
tre, was wounded or bleeding, or cut, or rent before, and the devil know- 
ing this, represents to the afflicted, that part of the spectre which an- 
swers to the body wounded, or garment rent, and then the searchers 
finding such wounds upon, or rents about the person suspected, are 
ready to conclude it was done by the stroke at the spectre which was 
done before. There was at Chelmsford an afflicted person, that in her 
fits cried out against a woman, a neighbor, which Mr. Clark the 
minister of the Gospel there, could not believe to be guilty of such a 
crime. And it happened while that woman milked her cow, the cow 

* Here closes Mr. John Hale's article and Mr. Mather speaks again. 



38 

struck her with one horn upon the forehead and fetched blood. And 
while she was thus bleeding, a spectre in her likeness appeared to the 
party afflicted, who pointing at the spectre, one struck at the place, 
and the afflicted said, You have made her forehead bleed / Hereupon, 
some went unto the woman, and foundMier forehead bloody, and ac- 
quainted Mr. Clark with it, who forthwith went to the woman and 
asked how her forehead became bloody? and she answered, by a 
blow of the cow's horn, as abovesaid : whereby he was satisfied that it 
was a design of Satan to render an innocent person suspected.' 

" Another instance was at Cambridge, about forty years since. 
'There was a man much troubled in the night, with cats, or the devil 
in their likeness, haunting of him, whereupon he kept a light burning, 
and a sword by him as he lay in bed, for he suspected a widow woman 
to send these cats, or imps by witchcraft to bewitch him. And one 
night as he lay in bed, a cat or imp came within his reach, and he 
struck her on the back : and upon inquiry, he heard this widow had 
a sore back. This confirmed his suspicion of the widow, he supposing 
it came from the wound he gave the cat. But Mr. Day, the widow's 
chirurgeon cleared the matter, saying that this widow came to him and 
complained that she had a sore in her back, and desired his help, and 
he found it a boil. But while this was in cure, the supposed cat was 
wounded as is already rehearsed. 

" Again, I knew a woman that was spectrally represented unto an 
afflicted maid, who complained that she was in such a part of the 
room, whereupon one struck at it with his rapier in the scabbard, and 
the afflicted said, You have rent her gown, and in such a place and 
her gown is green. Afterwards, this woman was observed, when ap- 
prehended, to have that gown on, (which doubtless she would not 
have worn then, if she had known anything of its being rent by stri- 
king at her spectre,) and there was found a rent sowed up, just in the 
place the afflicted had sa«id it was torn by the scabbard in the same 
mttnner. I asSted this woman afterwards, how her gown came torn? 
She answered, by going into such a yard about a year before, and such 
an one knew it to be so,' 

The author elsewhere speaking of another mistaken principles, takes 
occabion to mention the following passage : 

"'I remember when there was a great discourse about witches, a 
very holy man heard his wife say, she desired a sucking pig, and he 
going to a neighbor's house, saw a sow with a litter of pigs, and took a 
fancy to one of them in particular for his wife, and asked the owner 
for that pig. The owner denied him, hereupon he went away in a 
great passion, very unsuitable to such a person, and that very pig left 
its dam and company and followed this man to his home. This was 
observed and it was supposed Satan might have some hand init, taking 
advantage upon the passion of so good a man, to render him suspected 
by such an accident, if he could.' 

"Upon the whole, the author spends whole chapters to prove that 



OP STRANGE PHENOMENA IN THE 17TH CENTURY. 39 

there yet is a witch ; and he gives this definition of one. viz : ' A per- 
son that having the free use of reason, doth knowingly and willingly 
seek and obtain of the devil, or of any other God besides the true Godi 
Jehovah, an ability to do or know strange things, or things which he 
cannot by his own human abilities arrive unto. This person is a 
witch." 

" But thus much for that manuscript." 

[The precedingare Mr. Mather's remarks in full, in his "Magnalia," on the subject 
in question, changing only the ancient mode of spelling occassionally. — J. 



40 Mather's " more wonders 

More of Mr. Mather's Writings, from Robert Calefs " Salem Witchcraft," or 
" Wonders of the Invisible World." Page 17—42. 

" Sir : 

" I now lay before you a very entertaining story— a story which 
relates yet more Wonders of the Invisible World — a story whieh 
tells the remarkable afflictions and deliverance of one that had been 
prodigiously handled by the Evil Angels. I was myself a daily 
eye witness to a, large part of these occurrences, and there may be 
produced scores of substantial witnesses to the most of them ; yea, 
I know not of any one passage of the story but what may be suffi- 
ciently attested. I do not write it toith a design of throwing it pre- 
sently into the press, but only to preserve the memory of such memo- 
rable things, the forgetting whereof, would neither be pleasing to 
God, nor useful to men ; as also to give you, with some others of 
peculiar and obliging friends, a sight of some curiosities ; and I 
hope this apology will serve to excuse me, if I mention, as perhaps 
I may, when I come to a tenth paragraph in my writing, some 
tilings which I would have omitted in a farther publication. 

«« COTTON MATHER," 

[Notdated.] 

" § 1. Within these few years, there died in the southern parts, a Chris- 
tian Indian, who, notwithstanding some of his Indian weakness, had 
something of abetter character, of virtue and goodness, than many of 
our people can allow to most of their countrymen, that profess the 
Christian religion. He had been a zealous preacher of the gospel to 
his neighborhood, and a sort of overseer, or officer, to whose conduct 
was owing very much of what good order was maintained among 
those proselyted savages. This man, returning home from the funeral of 
his son, was complimented by an Englishman, expressing sorrow for 
his loss; now, tho' the Indians used upon the death of relations to be 
the most passionate and outrageous creatures in the world, yet this 
converted Indian handsomely and cheerfully replied, ' truly I am sorry, 
and I am not sorry ; I am sorry that I have buried a dear son ; but I 
am not sorry, that the will of God is done. I know that without the 
will of God my son could not have died, and I know that the will of 
God is always just and good, and so I am satisfied.' Immediately 
upon this, even within a few hours, he fell himself sick, of a disease 
that quickly killed him ; in the time of which disease, he called his 
folks about him, earnestly persuading them, to be sincere in their pray- 
ing unto God, and to beware of the drunkenness, the idleness, the 
lying, whereby so many of that nation disgraced their profession of 
Christianity ; adding, that he was ashamed, when he thought how lit- 
tle service he had hitherto done for God ; and, that if God would pro- 
long his life, he would labor to do better service, but that he was fully 
sure, he was now going to the Lord Jesus Christ, who had bought 
him with his precious blood ; and for his part, he longed to die, that 



41 

he might be with his glorious Lord ; and in the midst of such passa- 
ges, he gave up the ghost ; but in such repute, that the English peo- 
ple, of good fashion, did not think much of travelling a great way, to 
his interment. Lest my reader do now wonder why I have related 
this piece of a story, 1 will now hasten to abate that wonder by telling 
that whereto this was intended but for an introduction : know then, 
that this remarkable Indian being, a little before he died, at work in 
the wood, making of tar, there appeared unto him a Black Man, of a 
terrific aspect, and more than human dimensions, threatening bitterly 
to kill him, if he would not promise to leave off preaching, as he did to 
his countrymen, and promise particularly, that if he preached anymore, 
he would say nothing of Jesus Christ, unto them ! The Indian was 
amazed, yet had the courage to answer, ' I will, in spite of you, go on 
to preach Christ, more than ever I did, and the God whom I serve 
will keep me, that you shall never hurt me.' Hereupon the appari- 
tion, abating somewhat of his fierceness, offered to the Indian a book 
of a considerable thickness, and a pen and ink, and said, that if he 
would now set his hand unto that book, he would require nothing fur- 
ther of him ; but the'man refused the motion with indignation, and fell 
down upon his knees into a fervent and pious prayer unto God, for 
help against the tempter, whereupon the demon vanished. 

u This is a story which I would never have tendered unto my read- 
er, if I had not received it from an honest and useful Englishman, who 
is at this time a preacher of the gospel to the Indians ; nor would the 
probable truth of it have encouraged me to have tendered it, if this * 
also had not been a fit introduction unto yet a further narrative. 

" § 2. It was not much above a year or two after this accident (of 
which no manner of noise has been made) that there was a prodigious 
descent of Devils upon divers places near the centre of this Province : 
wheiein some scores of miserable people were troubled by horrible 
appearances of a Black Man, accompanied with spectres, wearing 
these and those human shapes, who offered them a book to be by them 
signed, in token of their being listed for the service of the Devil, and 
upon their denying to do it, they were dragooned with a thousand 
preternatural torments, which gave no little terror to the beholders of 
these unhappy people. There was one in the north part of Boston 
seized by the Evil Angels many months after the general storm of the 
late enchantments was over, and when the country had long lain very 
quiet, both as to molestations and accusations from the Invisible 
World : Her name was Margaret Rule, a young woman — she was 
born of sober and honest parents yet living, but what her own charac- 
ter was, before her visitation, I can speak with the less confidence of 
exactness, because I observe that wherever the Devils have been let 
loose, to worry any poor creature among us, a great part of the neigh- 
borhood presently set themselves to inquire, and relate all the little 
vanities of their childhood, with such unequal exaggerations, as to 
make them appear greater sinners than any whom the Prince of Hell 
has not preyed upon : But it is affirmed, that for about half a year be- 



42 Mather's " more wonders 

fore her visitation, she was observably improved, in the hopeful symp 
toms of a new creature ; she was become seriously concerned for tli« 
everlasting salvation of her soul, and careful to avoid the snares of evil 
company. This young woman had never seen the afflictions of Mercy 
Short, whereof a narrative has been already given, and yet, aboul 
half a year after the glorious and signal deliverance of that poor dam- 
sel, this Margaret fell into an affliction, marvellous, resembling hers in 
almost all the circumstances of it; indeed the afflictions were so much 
alike, that the relation I have given of the one, would almost serve as 
the full history of the other : this was to that, little more than the se- 
cond part to the same tune ; indeed Margaret's case was in several 
points less remarkable than Mercy's, and in some other things the en- 
tertainments did a little vary. 

" § 3. It was upon the Lord's day, the 10th of September, in the 
year 1693, that Margaret Rule, after some hours of previous distur- 
bance in the public Assembly, fell into odd fits, which caused her 
friends to carry her home, where her fits in a few hours grew into a 
figure, that satisfied the spectators of their being preternatural ; some 
of the neighbors were forward enough to suspect the rise of this mis- 
chief in an house hard by, where lived a miserable woman who had 
been formerly imprisoned, on the suspicion of witchcraft, and who had 
frequently cured very painful hurts, by muttering over them certain 
charms, which I shall not endanger the poisoning of my reader by re- 
peating. This "woman had, the evening before Margaret fell into her 
calamities, very bitterly treated her, and threatened her ; but the ha- 
zard of hurting a poor woman, that might be innocent, (notwithstand- 
ing surmizes that might have been more strongly grounded than those,) 
caused the pious people in the vicinity, to try, rather, whether inces- 
sant supplications to God alone, might not procure a quicker and safer 
ease to the afflicted, than hasten prosecution of any supposed criminal, 
and accordingly that unexceptionable course was all that was ever 
followed — yea, which I looked on as a token for good, the afflicted 
family was as averse as any of us, to entertain thoughts of any other 
course. 

" § 4. This young woman was assaulted by eight cruel spectres, 
whereof she imagined that siie knew three or four, but the rest came 
still with their faces covered, so that she could never have a distin- 
guished view of the countenance of those, whom she thought she 
knew: she was very careful of my reiterated charges, to forbear blaz- 
ing the names, lest any good person should come to suffer any blast of 
reputation, thro' the cunning malice of the great accuser; neverthe- 
less, having since privately named them to myself, I will venture to 
say this of them, that they are a sort of wretches, who for these many 
years have gone under as violent presumptions of Witchcraft, as per- 
haps any creatures yet living upon earth ; altho' I am far from think- 
ing that the visions of this young woman were evidence enough to 
prove them so. These cursed spectres now brought unto her a book 
about a cubit long — a book red and thick, but not very broad ; and 



43 

they demanded of her, that she would set her hand to that book, or 
touch it at least with her hand, as a sign of her becoming a servant of 
the devil ; upon her peremptory refusal to do what they asked, they 
did not after renew the proffers of the book unto her, but instead 
thereof, they fell to tormenting of her in a manner too hellish to be 
sufficiently described — in those torments confining her to her bed for 
just six weeks together. 

•' § 5. Sometimes, but not always, together with the spectres, there 
looked in upon the young woman (according to her account) a short 
and a black man, whom they called their master — a white exactly of 
the same dimensions and complexion and voice, with the devil that 
has exhibited himself unto other infested people, not only in other 
parts of this country, but also in other countries, even of the European 
World, as the relation of the enchantments there inform us. They 
all profest themselves vassals of this devil, and in obedience unto him, 
they address themselves unto various ways of torturing her; accord- 
ingly she was cruelly pinched with invisible hands, very often in a 
day, and the black and blue marks of the pinches became immediate- 
ly visible unto the standers by. Besides this, when her attendants 
had left her without so much as one pin about her, that so they might 
prevent some feared inconveniencies, yet she would every now and 
then, be miserably hurt with pins, which were found stuck into her 
neck, back and arms ; however the wounds made by the pins, would, 
in a few minutes ordinarily be cured ; she would also be strangely 
distorted in her joints, and thrown into such exorbitant convulsions 
as were astonishing unto the spectators in general. They that could 
behold the doleful condition of the poor family without sensible com- 
passions, might have entrails indeed; but I am sure they could have 
no true bowels in them. 

" § 6. It were a most unchristian and uncivil, yea, a most unreason- 
able thing to imagine, that the fits of the young woman were but 
mere impostures ; and I believe, scarce any but people of a particu- 
lar dirtiness, will harbor such an uncharitable censure ; however, be- 
cause I know not how far the devil may drive the imagination of poor 
creatures, when he has possession of them, that at another time when 
they are themselves, would scorn to dissemble any thing. I shall 
now confine my narrative unto passages wherein there could be no 
room left for any dissimulation. Of these, the first that I'll mention shall 
be this — from the time that Margaret Rule first found herself to be 
formally beseiged by the spectres until the ninth dayfollowing, name- 
ly, from the tenth of September to the eighteenth, she kept an entire fast, 
and yet she was, unto all appearance, as fresh, as lively, and as hearty, 
at the nine days end, as before they began ; in all this time, though 
she had a very eager hunger upon her stomach, yet if any refresh- 
ments were brought unto her, her teeth would be set, and she would 
be thrown into many miseries indeed ; once or twice or so, in all this 
time, her tormentors permitted her to swallow a mouthful of some- 
what that might increase her miseries, whereof a spoonful of rum was 



44 Mather's " more wonders 

the most considerable ; but otherwise, as I said, her fast untotheninth 
day was very extreme and rigid : however, afterwards, there scarce 
passed a day wherein she had not liberty to take something or other 
for her sustenation. And I must add this further, that this business 
of her fast, was carried so, that it was impossible to be dissembled with- 
out a combination of multitudes of people, unacquainted with one an- 
other, to support the juggle ; but he that can imagine such a thing of 
a neighborhood, so filled with virtuous people, is a base man — I can- 
not call him any other. 

" § 7. But if the sufferings of this young woman were not impos- 
ture, yet might they not be pure distemper 1 I will not here inquire 
of our Saducees what sort of a distemper it is, that shall stick the body 
full of pins without any hand that could be seen to stick them; or 
whether all the pin-makers in the world would be willing to be evapo- 
rated into certain ill habits of body, producing a distemper ; but of 
the distemper my reader shall be judge, when I have told him some- 
thing further of those unusual sufferings. I do believe that the evil 
angels do often take advantage from natural distempers in the children 
of men, to annoy them with such further mischiefs, as we call preter- 
natural. The malignant vapours and humours of our diseased bodies 
may be used by devils, thereinto insinuating as engines of the execu- 
tion of their malice upon those bodies ; and perhaps, for this reason, 
one sex may suffer more troubles of some kinds from the Invisible 
World than the other ; as well as for that reason, for which the old 
serpent made, where he did his first address. But I pray, what will 
you say to this? Margaret Rule would sometimes have her jaws 
forcibly pulled open, whereupon something invisible would be poured 
down her throat. We all saw her swallow, and yet we saw her try 
all she could, by spitting, coughing and shrieking, that she might not 
swallow; but one time the standers by, plainly saw something of that 
odd liquor itself on the outside of her neck Shecried out of it, as of 
scalding brimstone poured into her, and the whole house would im- 
mediately scent so hot of brimstone that we were scarce able to en- 
dure it— whereof there are scores of witnesses ; but the young wo- 
man herself would be so monstrously inflamed that it would have 
broke a heart of stone to have seen her agonies. This was a thing 
that several times happened, and several times when her mouth was 
thus pulled open, the standers by clapping their hands close thereupon, 
the distresses that otherwise followed would be diverted. Moreover, 
there was a whitish powder, to us invisible, sometimes cast upon the 
eyes of this young woman, whereby her eyes would be extremely in- 
commoded, but one time some of this powder was fallen actually visi- 
ble upon her cheek, from whence the people in the room wiped it 
with their handkerchiefs ; and sometimes the young woman would 
also be so bitterly scorched with the unseen sulphur thrown upon her, 
that very sensible blisters would be raised upon her skin, whereto her 
friends found it necessary to apply the oils proper for common burn- 
ings ; but the most of these hurts would be cured in two or three days 



OP THE INVISIBLE WORLD." 45 

at farthest : I think I may, without vanity pretend to have read not a 
few of the best systems of physic that have been yet seen in these 
American regions, but I must confess that I have never yet learned 
the name of the natural distemper whereto these odd symptoms do 
belong : however, I might suggest perhaps many a natural medicine 
which would be of singular use against many of them. 

" § 8. But there fell out some other matters far beyond the reach of 
natural distemper. This Margaret Rule once in the middle of the 
night lamented sadly that the spectres threatened the drowning of a 
young man, in the neighborhood, whom she named unto the company. 
Well, it was afterwards found that at that very time this young man, 
having been pressed onboard a man of war, then in the harbor, was 
out of some dissatisfaction attempting to swim ashore, and he had been 
drowned in the attempt, if a boat had not seasonably taken him up ; it 
was by computation a minute or two after the young woman's dis- 
course of the drowning, that the young man took the water. At ano- 
ther time, she told us that the spectres bragged and laughed in her 
hearing about an exploit they had lately done, by stealing from a gen- 
tleman his will soon after he had written it ; and within a few hours 
after she had spoken this, there came to me a gentleman with a pri- 
vate complaint, that having written his will, it was unaccountably 
gone out of the way, how, or where, he could not imagine ; and be- 
sides all this, there were wonderful noises, every now and then, made 
about the room, which our people could ascribe to no other authors 
but the spectres ; yea, the watchers affirm, that they heard those fiends 
dapping of their hands together with an audibleness wherein they 
could not be imposed upon. And once her tormentors pulled her up 
to the ceiling of the chamber, and held her there, before a numerous 
company of spectators, who found it as much as they could all do to 
pull her down again. There was also another very surprising circum- 
stance about her, agreeable to what we have not only read in several 
histories, concerning the imps that have been employed in witchcraft; 
but also known in some of our own afflicted. We once thought we 
perceived something stir upon her pillow at a little distance from her, 
whereupon one present laying his hand there, he to his horror appre- 
hended that he felt, tho' none could see it, a living creature not alto- 
gether unlike a rat, which nimbly escaped from him ; and there were 
diverse other persons who were thrown into a great consternation by 
feeling, as they judged, at other times the same invisible animal. 

" § 9. As it has been with a thousand other enchanted people, so it 
was with Margaret Rule in this particular, that there were several 
words which her tormentors would not let her hear, especially the 
words pray, or prayer, and yet she could so hear the letters of those 
words distinctly mentioned as to know what they meant. The stand- 
ers by were forced sometimes thus in discourse to spell a word to her, 
but because there were some so ridiculous as to count it a sort ot 
spell or a charm for any thus to accommodate themselves to the capa- 
city of the sufferer, little of this kind was done. But that which was 



46 Mather's " more wonders 

more singular in this matter, was, that she could not use these words 
in those penetrating discourses, wherewith she would sometimes ad- 
dress the spectres that were about her. She would sometimes for a 
long while together apply herself to the spectres, whom she supposed 
the witches, with such exhortations to repentance as would have melt- 
ed an heart of adamant to have heard them ; her strains of expression 
and argument were truly extraordinary. A person perhaps of the 
best education and experience, and of attainments much beyond hers, 
could not have exceeded them : nevertheless, when she came to these 
words, God, Lord, Christ, Good, Repent, and some other such, her 
mouth could not utter them ; whereupon she would sometimes in an 
angry parenthesis complain of their wickedness in stopping that word, 
but she would then go on with some other terms that would serve to 
tell what she meant. And I believe that if the most suspicious person 
in the world had beheld all the circumstances of this matter, he would 
have said it could not have been dissembled. 

" § 10. Not only in the Swedish, but also in the Salem "Witchcraft, 
the enchanted people have talked much of a White Spirit from whence 
they received marvellous assistances in their miseries : What lately 
befel Mercy Short from the communications of such a spirit, hath 
been the just wonder of us all, but by such a spirit was Margaret 
Rule now also visited. She says that she could never see his face ; 
but that she had a frequent view of his bright, shining and glorious 
garments ; he stood by her bed side continually heartening and com- 
forting of her, and counselling her to maintain her faith, and hope in 
God, and never comply with the temptations of her adversaries ; she 
says he told her, that God had permitted her afflictions to befal her 
for the everlasting and unspeakable good of her own soul, and for the 
good of many others, and for his own immortal glory — and that she 
should therefore be of good cheer, and be assured of a speedy deliver- 
ance; and the wonderful resolution of mind wherewith she encoun- 
tered her afflictions were but agreeable to such expectations. More- 
over, a minister having one day with some importunity prayed for the 
deliverance of this young woman, and pleaded that she belonged to 
his flock and charge, he had so far a right unto her as that he was to 
do the part of a minister of our Lord for the bringing of her home unto 
God, only now the devil hindered him in doing that which he had a 
right thus to do ; and whereas he had a better title unto her to bring 
her home to God, than the devil could have unto her to carry her 
away from the Lord, he therefore humbly applied himself unto God, 
who alone could right this matter, with a suit that she might be re- 
scued out of Satan's hands. Immediately upon this, tho' she heard 
nothing of this transaction, she began to call that minister her father, 
and that was the name whereby she every day before all sorts of peo- 
ple distinguished him : the occasion of it, she says was this : the white 
spirit presently upon this transaction did after this manner speak to 
her, ' Margaret, you now are to take notice that such a man is your 
father — God has given you to him — do you from this time look upon 



OP THE INVISIBLE WORLD." 47 

him as your father, obey him, regard him as your father, follow his 
counsels and you shall do well.' And tho' there was one passage 
more, which I do as little know what to make of as any of the rest, I 
am now going to relate it ; more than three times have I seen it ful- 
filled in the deliverance of enchanted and possessed persons, whom the 
providence of God has cast into my way, that their deliverance could 
not be obtained before the third fast kept for them, and the third day 
still obtained the deliverance, although I have thought of beseeching 
of the Lord thrice, when buffeted by Satan, yet I must earnestly en- 
treat all my readers to beware of any superstitious conceits upon the 
number three ; if our God will hear us upon once praying and fasting 
before him, it is well, and if he will not vouchsafe his mercy upon our 
thrice doing so, yet we must not be so discouraged as to throw by our 
devotion ; but if the sovereign grace of our God will in any particular 
instances count our patience enough tried when we have solemnly 
waited upon him for any determinate number of times, who shall f?ay 
to him. What doest thou % — and if there shall be any number of in- 
stances wherein this grace of our God has exactly holden the same 
course, it may have a room in our hnmble observations I hope without 
any superstition. I say, then, that after Margaret Rule had been more 
than five weeks in her miseries, this white spirit said unto her, ' Well, 
this day such a man (whom he named) has kept a third day for your 
deliverance, now be of good cheer, you shall speedily be delivered.' I 
inquired whether what had been said of that man were true, and 1 
gained exact and certain information that it was precisely so, but I 
doubt lest in relating this passage that I have used more openness 
than a friend should be treated with, and for that cause I have con- 
cealed several of the most memorable things that have occurred not 
only in this but in some former histories, altho', indeed, I am not so 
well satisfied about the true nature of this white spirit, as to count 
that I can do a friend much honor by reporting what notice this white 
spirit may have thus taken of him. 

" § 11. On the last day of the week her tormentors (as she thought 
and said) approaching towards her, would be forced still to recoil and 
retire as unaccountably, unable to meddle with her ; and they would 
retire to the fire side with their poppets ; but going to stick pins into 
those poppets, they could not (according to their visions) make the pins 
to enter. She insulted over them with a very proper derision, daring 
them now to do their worst, whilst she had the satisfaction to see their 
black master strike them and kick them, like the overseer of so many 
negroes, to make them do their work, and renew the marks of his 
vengeance on them when they failed of doing of it. At last, being as 
it were, tired with their ineffectual attempts to mortify her, they furi- 
ously said, * Well, you shan't be the last.' And after a pause, they 
added, * Go, and the devil go with you, we can do no more' — where- 
upon they flew out of the room, and she returning perfectly to herself, 
most affectionately gave thanks to God for her deliverance. Her tor- 
mentors left her extremely weak and faint, and overwhelmed with 



48 Mather's " more wonders 

vapours, which would not only cause her sometimes to swoon away, 
but also now and then for a little while discompose the reasonableness 
of her thoughts. Nevertheless her former troubles returned not ; but 
we are now waiting to see the good effects of those troubles upon the 
souls of all concerned : and now I suppose that some of our learned 
witlings of the coffee-house, for fear lest these proofs of an Invisible 
World should spoil some oH their sport, will endeavour to turn them 
all into sport f for which buffoonery their only pretence will be, ' They 
can't understand how such things as these could be done' — whereas 
indeed he that is but philosopher enough to have read but one little 
treatise, published in the year 1656, by no other man than the Chyrur- 
gion of an army, or but one chapter of Helmont, which I will not 
quote at this time too particularly, may give a far more intelligible 
account of these appearances than most of these blades can give why 
and how their tobacco makes them spit ; or which way the flame of 
their candle becomes illuminating — as for that cavil — ' The world 
would be undone if the devils could have such power as they seem to 
have in several of our stories' — it may be answered, that as to many 
things the lying devils have only known them to be done and then 
pretended unto the doing of those things ; but the true and best an- 
swer is, that by these things we only see what the devils could have 
power to do, if the great God should give ihem that power — whereas, 
now our histories afford a glorious evidence for the being of a God. 
The world would indeed be undone, and horribly undone, if these 
devils, who now and then get liberty to play some very mischievous 
pranks, were not under a daily restraint of some Almighty Superior 
from doing more of such mischiefs . Wherefore, instead of all apish 
flouts and jeers at histories which have such undoubted confirmation, 
as that no man that has breeding enough to regard the common laws of 
human society, will offer to doubt of them — it becomes us rather to 
adore the goodness of God, who does not permit such things every 
day to befal us all, as he sometimes did permit to befall some few of 
our miserable neighbors. 

" Sect. 12. And why, after all my unwearied cares and pains to 
rescue the miserable from the lions and bears of hell, which had seized 
them, and after all my studies to disappoint the Devils in their de- 
signs to confound my neighborhood, must I be driven to the necessity 
of an apology 1 Truly the hard representations wherewith some ill 
men have reviled my conduct, and the countenance which other men 
have given to these representations, oblige me to give mankind some 
account of my behaviour. No Christian can (1 say none but evil 
workers can) criminate my visiting such of my poor flock as have at 
any time fallen under the terrible and sensible molestations of Evil 
Angel's : let their afflictions have been what they will, I could not 
have answered it unto my glorious Lord, if I had withheld my just 
counsels and comforts from them ; and if I have also with some ex- 
actness, observed the methods of the Invisible World, when they have 
thus become observable, I have been but a servant of mankind in 






OP THE INVISIBLE WORLD." 49 

doing so ; yea, no less a person than the venerable Baxter has more 
than once or twice in the most public manner invited mankind to 
thank me for that service. I have not been insensible of a greater 
danger attending me in this fulfillment of my ministry, than if I had 
been to take ten thousand steps over a rocky mountain filled with 
rattle-snakes ; but I have considered, he that is wise, will observe 
things ; and the surprising explication and confirmation of the biggest 
part of the Bible, which I have seen given in these things, has abund- 
antly paid me for observing them. Now in my visiting of the mis- 
erable, I was always of this opinion, that we were ignorant of what 
power the Devils might have to do their mischiefs in the shapes of 
some that had never been explicitly engaged in diabolical confedera- 
cies, and that therefore, tho' many witchcrafts had been fairly detect- 
ed on inquries provoked and begun by spectral exhibitions, yet we 
could not easily be too jealous of the snares laid for us in the devices 
of Satan. The world knows how many pages I have composed and 
published, and particular gentlemen in the Government know how 
many letters I have written to prevent the excessive credit of spec- 
tral accusations ; wherefore I have still charged the afflicted that they 
should cry out of nobody for a^icting of them : bnt that if this might 
be any advantage, they might privately tell their minds to some one 
person of discretion enough to make no ill use of their communica- 
tions — accordingly there has been this effect of it, that the name of no 
one good person in the world ever came under any blemish by means 
of an afflicted person that fell under my particular cognizance — yea, 
no one man, woman or child, ever came into any trouble for the sake 
of any that were afflicted, after I had once begun to look after them. 
How often have I had this thrown into my dish, " That many years 
ago T had an opportunity to have brought forth such people as have in 
the late storm of witchcraft been complained of, but that I smothered 
all ; and after that storm was raised at Salem, I did myself offer to pro- 
vide meat, drink, and lodging for no less than six of the afflicted, that 
so an experiment might be made, whether prayer with fasting, upon 
the removal of the distressed, might not put a period to the trouble 
then rising, without giving the civil authority the troupe of prosecuting 
those things which nothing but a conscientious regard unto the cries 
of miserable families could have overcome the reluctancies of the 
honorable Judges to meddle with." In short, I do humbly but freely 
affirm it, there is not that man living in this world who has been more 
4esirous than the poor man I, to shelter my neighbors from the incon- 
veniences of spectral outcries ; yea, I am very jealous I have done so 
much that way as to sin in what I have done — such have been the 
cowardice and fearfulness whereunto my regard unto the dissatisfac- 
tions of other persons have precipitated me. I know a man in the 
world, who has thought he has been able to convict some such witches 
as ought to die, but his respect unto the public peace has caused him 
rather to try whether he could not renew them by repentance ; and 
as I have been studious to defeat the Devils of their expectations to 



50 mather's "more wonders 

set people together by the ears thus, I have also checked and quelled 
those forbidden curiosities which would have given the Devil an in- 
vitation to have tarried amongst us, when I have seen wonderful 
snares laid for curions people, by the secret and future things discov- 
ered from the mouths of damsels possest with a spirit of divination: 
Indeed I can recollect but one thing wherein there could be given so 
much as a shadow of reason for expectations and that is my allowing 
of so many to come and see those that were afflicted. Now for that 
I have this to say, that I have almost a thousand times intreated the 
friends of the miserable, that they would not permit the intrusion of 
any company, but such as by prayers or other ways might be helpful 
to them j nevertheless, I have not absolutely forbid all company from 
coming to your haunted chambers, partly because the calamities of the 
families were such as required the assistance of many friends ; partly 
because I have been willing that there should be disinterested wit- 
nesses of all sorts, to confute the calumnies of such as would say all 
was but imposture, and partly because 1 saw God had sanctified the 
spectacle of the miseries on the afflicted unto the souls of many that 
were spectators ; and it is a very glorious thing that I have now to 
mention : TheDevilshave with most horrid operations broke inuopn our 
neighborhood, and God has at such a rate overruled all the fury and 
malice of those Devils, that all the afflicted have not only been deliver- 
ed, but I hope also savingly brought home unto God, and the reputation 
of no one good person in the world has been damaged ; but instead 
thereof the souls of many, especially of the rising generation, have 
been thereby awakened unto some acquaintance with religion — our 
young people who belonged unto the praying meetings of both sexes, 
a part would ordinarily spend whole nights by whole weeks together 
in prayers and psalms upon these occasions, in which devotions the 
devils could get nothing; but like fools, a scourge for their own backs; 
and some scores of other young people, who were strangers to real 
piety, were now struck with the lively demonstrations of Hell, evi- 
dently set forth before their eyes, when they saw persons cruelly 
frighted, wounded and starved by Devils, and scalded with burning 
brimstone ; and yet so preserved in this tortured state, as that at the 
end of one month's wretchedness, they were as able still to undergo 
another — so that of these also it might now be said, 'Behold they pray 
in the whole — the Devil got just nothing — but God got praises, Christ 
got snbjects, the Holy Spirit got temples, the Church got addition, and 
the souls of men got everlasting benefits.' I am not so vain as to say 
that any wisdom or virtue of mine did contribute unto this good order 
of things ; but I am so just as to say, I did not hinder this good. When 
therefore there have been those that picked up little incoherent scraps 
and bits of my discourses in this fruitful discharge of my ministry, and 
so traversed them in their abusive pamphlets, as to persuade the town 
that 1 was their common enemy in those very points wherein, if in any 
one thing whatsoever I have sensibly approved myself as true a servant 
unto them as possibly I could, tho' my life and soul had been at stake 



OP THE INVISIBLE WORLD.'' 51 

for it — yea to do like Satan himself, by sly, base, unpretending in- 
sinuations, as if I wore not the modesty and gravity which became a 
minister of the gospel, I could not but think myself unkindly dealt 
withal, and the neglects of others to do me justice in this affair has 
caused me to conclude this narrative with complaints in another 
hearing of such monstrous iujuries• ,, 



The following letter of Cotton Mather to Robert Calef, in Mr. C's "Salem Witch- 
craft," seems as a specimen of opposition encountered by Mr. M. in his faithfully 
collecting and bringing before the world as he has, the dark wonders of the preceding 
History. — J. 

Boston^ January the 15th, 1694. 
Mr. R. C. 
"WHEREAS you intimate your desires, that what is not fairly (1 
take it for granted you mean truly also,) represented in a paper you 
lately sent me, containing a pretended narrative of a visit by my 
father* and self to an afflicted young woman, whom we apprehended 
to be under a Diabolical Possession, might be rectified : I have this to 
say, as I have often already said, that do I scarcely find any one thing 
in the whole paper, whether respecting my father or self, either fairly 
or truly represented. Nor can I think that any that know my parent's 
circumstances, but must think him deserving a better character by 
far, than this narrative can be brought to give him. When the main 
design we managed in visiting the poor afflicted creature was to pre- 
vent the accusations of the neighborhood; can it be fairly represented 
that our design was to draw out such accusations, which is the repre- 
sentation of the paper. We have testimonies of the best witnesses, 
and in number not a few, that when we asked Margaret Rule whether 
she thought she knew who tormented her ? the question was but an in- 
troduction to the solemn charges which we then largely gave, that she 
should rather die than tell the names ol any whom she might imagine 
that she knew. Your informers have reported the question, and 
report nothing what follows as essential to the giving of that 
question; and can this be termed a piece of fairness? Fair 
it cannot be that when ministers faithfully and carefully discharge 
their duty to the miserable in their flock, little bits, scraps and shreds 
of their discourses, should be tacked together to make them contempt- 
ible, when there shall be no notice of all the necessary, seasonable, and 
profitable things that occured, in those discourses ; and without which, 
the occasion of the lesser passages cannot be understood ; and yet I 
am furnished with abundant evidences, ready to be sworn, that will 
positively prove this part of unfairness, by the above mentioned nar- 
rative, to be done both to my father and self. Again, it seems not fair 
or reasonable that I should be exposed, for which yourself (not to say 

* Increase Mather, D. D. President of Harvard College. 



52 mather's " more wonders 

some others) might have exposed me for, if I had not done, viz.: for 
discouraging so much company from flocking about the Possest Maid, 
and yet, as I persuade myself, you cannot but think it to be good ad- 
vice to keep much company from such haunted chambers ; besides 
the unfairness doth more appear, in that I find nothing repeated of what 
I said about the advantage which the Devil takes from too much ob- 
servation and curiosity. 

"In that several of the questions in the paper are so worded, astocarry 
in them a presuposal of the things inquired after, to say the best of it 
is very unfair : but this is not all, the narrative contains a number of 
mistakes and falsehoods ; which, were they wilful and designed, might 
jnstly be termed gross lies. The representations are far from true, 
when 'tis affirmed my father and self being come into the room, I be- 
gan the discourse ; I hope I understand breeding a little better than 
so ; for proof of this, did occasion serve, sundry can depose the 
contrary. 

" 'Tis no less untrue, that either my father or self put the question, 
How many Witches sit upon you 1 We always cautiously avoided 
that expression, it being contrary to our inward belief: All the stand- 
ers by, will, (I believe) swear they did not hear us use it, (your wit- 
nesses excepted) and I tremble to think how hardy those woful crea- 
tures must be, to call the Almighty by an oath, to so false a thing. 
As false a representation 'tis, that I rubbed Rule's stomach, her breast 
not being covered. The oath of the nearest spectators, giving a true 
account of that matter will prove this to be little less than a gross (if 
not a doubled) lie ; and to be somewhat plainer, it carries the face of a 
lie contrived ©n purpose (by them at lesat, to whom you are beholden 
for the narrative) wickedly and basely to expose me. For you cannot 
but know how much this representation hath contributed, to make peo- 
ple believe, a smutty thing of me, I am far from thinking, but that in 
your own conscience you believe, thatno indecent action of that nature 
could then be done by me before such observers, had I been so wick- 
ed as to have been inclined to what is so base. It looks next to im- 
possible that a reparation should be made me for the wrong done to, 
(I hope, as to any scandal) an unblemished, 'tho weak and small ser- 
vant of the Church of God. Nor is what follows a less untruth, that it 
was an attendant and not myself who said, if Rule knows who afflicts 
her, yet she wont tell. I therefore spoke it, that I might encourage 
her to continue in that concealment of all names whatsoever ; to this 
I am able to furnish myself with the attestation of sufficient oaths. 
'Tis as far from true, that my apprehensions of the Imp, about Rule, 
was on her Belly, for the oaths of the spectators, and even of those 
that thought they felt it, can testify that it was upon the pillow, at a 
distance from her body. As untrue a representation is that which 
follows, viz : That it was said unto her, that her not apprehending of 
that odd, palpable, tho' not visible mover was from her fancy, for I en- 
deavored to persuade her that it might be but fancy in others, that 
there was any such thing at all. Witnesses every way sufficient can 



OP THE INVISIBLE WORLD." 53 

be produced for this also. It is falsely represented that my father felt 
on the young woman after the appearance mentioned, for his hand was 
never near her; oath can sufficiently vindicate him. 'Tis very untrue 
that my father prayed for perhaps half an hour, against the power of 
the Devil and Witchcraft, and that God would bring out the affictors. 
Witnesses of the best credit can depose, that his prayer was not a 
quarter of an hour, and that there was no more than about one clause 
towards the close of the prayer, which was of this import ; and this 
clause also was guarded with a singular wariness and modesty, viz : 
If there were any evil instruments in this matter, God would please to 
discover them ; and that there was more than common reason for that 
petition, I can satisfy any one that will please to inquire of me. And 
strange it is, that a gentleman that from 18 to 54 hath been an exem- 
plary Minister of the Gospel ; and that besides a station in the Church 
of God, as considerable as any that his own country can afford, hath 
for divers years come off with honor, in his application to three Crown- 
ed Heads, and, the chiefest Nobility of three Kingdoms, knows not yet 
how to make one short prayer of a quarter of an hour, but in New- 
England he must be libelled for it. There are divers others down 
right mistakes, which you have permitted yourself, I would hope, not 
knowingly, and with a malicious design, to be receiver or compiler 
of, which I shall now forbear to animadvert upon. As for the Ap- 
pendix of the Narrative, I do find myself therein injuriously treated, 
for the utmost of your proof for what you say of me, amounts to little 
more than, viz : Some people told you that others told them, that such 
and such things did pass : but you may assure yourself, that I am not 
unfurnished with witnesses, that can convict the same. Whereas you 
would give me to believe the bottom of these your methods, to be 
some dissatisfaction about the commonly received power of the Devil and 
Witches : I do not only with all freedom offer you the use of any part 
of my library which you may see cause to peruse on that subject, but 
also if you and any one else whom you please, will visit me at my 
study, yea, or meet me at any other place less inconvenient than those 
by you proposed, I will with all the fairness and calmness in the 
world, dispute the point. I beg of God that He would bestow as 
many blessings on you as ever on myself, and out of a sincere wish 
that you may be made yet more capable of these blessings, I take this 
occasion to lay before you the faults (not few nor small ones neither,) 
which the paper contained you lately sent me, in order to be examined 
by me. In case you want a true and full narrative of my visit, 
whereof such an indecent traversty (to say the best) hath been made, 
I am not unwilling to communicate it, in the meantime, must take 
liberty to say, it is scarcely consistent with common civility, much less 
christian charity, to offer the narrative, now with you, for a true one, 
till you have a truer, or for a full one till you have a fuller. Your 
sincere ('tho injured) friend and servant, 

C. MATHER. 



54 mather's "more wonders of the ircvisiBLE world." 

" The copy of a Taper received with the above Letter. 

" I DO testify that I have seen Margaret Rule in her afflictions from 
the invisible world, lifted up from her bed, wholly by an invisible 
force, a great way towards the top of the room where she lay ; in her 
being so lifted, she had no assistance from any use of her own arms or 
hands, or any other part of her body, not so much as her heels touching 
her bed, or resting on any support whatsoever. And I have seen her 
thus lifted, when not only a strong person hath thrown his whole 
weight across her to pull her down ; but several other persons have 
endeavored, with all their might, to hinder her from being so raised up, 
which I suppose that several others will testify as well as myself, 
when called unto it Witness my hand, 

"SAMUEL AVES." 

" WE can also testify to the substance of what is above written, and 
have several times seen Margaret Rule so lifted up from her bed, as 
that she had no use of her own limbs to help her up, but it was the 
declared apprehension of us, as well as others that saw it, impossible 
for any hands, but some of the Invisible World to lift her. 

" ROBERT EARLE. 
"Copy JOHN WILKINS. 

DAN. WILLIAMS. 

"WE, whose names are underwritten, do testify, That one eve- 
ning when we were in the chamber where Margaret Rule then lay, in 
her late affliction, we observed her to be, by an invisible force, lifted 
up from the bed whereon she lay, so as to touch the garret floor, 
while yet neither her feet, nor any other part of her body rested either 
on the bed, or any other support, but were also by the same force, 
lifted up from all that was under her, and all this for a considerable 
while, we judged it several minutes ; and it was as much as several of 
us could do, with all our strength to pull her down. All which hap- 
pened when there were not only we two in the chamber, but we sup- 
pose ten or a dozen more, whose names we have forgotten, 

" THOMAS THORNTON, 
Copy WILLILIAM HUDSON, 

" Testifies to the substance of Thornton's Testimony to which he also 
hath set his hand.'" 

ISP In the preceding pages, containing all that Mr. Mather has said on this subject, 
in the two books from whence they are taken, the Compiler has not felt at liberty to 
change a word of the style from antique to modern, though doubtless a sense of pro- 
priety in some, would have judged otherwise. It will be seen that Mr. Mather has 
written other works on the same subject, which will probably, era long be re-pub 
lished or as soon as practical. — J. 
New York, Jan. 20, 1846. 



\ \ 



YA 1185 



CONFESSION OF SALEM JURORS, &c. 






From Calefs " Salem Witchcraft." Page 294. 

u Some that had been of several Juries, have given forth a paper, 
signed with their own hands, in these words : 

•* WE whose names are under written, being in the year 1692, 
called to serve as jurors in court at Salem on trial of many ; who 
were by some suspected guilty of doing acts of witchcraft upon 
the bodies of sundry persons. 

" We confess that we ourselves were not capable to under- 
stand, nor able to withstand the mysterious delusions of the pow- 
ers of darkness, and prince of the air ; but were, for want of 
knowledge in ourseJves, and better information from others, pre- 
vailed with to take up with such evidence against the accused, as 
on further consideration, and better information, we justly fear, 
was insufficient for the touching the lives of any : Deut. xvii. 6., 
whereby we fear we have been instrumental with others, though 
ignorantly and unwittingly, to bring upon ourselves and this peo- 
ple of the Lord, the guilt of innocent blood ; which sin the Lord 
saith in scripture, he would not pardon : 2 Kings xxiv. 4 ; that is, 
we suppose in regard of his temporal judgment. We do there- 
fore hereby signify to all in general (and to the surviving sufferers 
in special) our deep sense of, and sorrow for our errors, in acting 
on such evidence to the condemning of any person. 

" And do hereby declare that we justly fear that we were sadly 
deluded and mistaken, for which we are much disquieted and dis- 
tressed in our minds ; and do therefore humbly beg forgiveness, 
first of God for Christ's sake for this our error; and pray that 
God would not impute the guilt of it to ourselves nor others ; and 
we also pray that we may be considered candidly, and aright by 
the living sufferers as being then under the power of a strong 
and general delusion, utterly unacquainted with, and not expe- 
rienced in matters of that nature. 

" We do heartily ask forgiveness of you all, whom we have 
justly offended, and do declare according to our present minds, 
we would none of us do such things again on such grounds for 
the whole world ; praying you to accept of this in way of satis- 
faction for our offence ; and that you would bless the inheritance 
of the Lord, that he may be entreated for the land. 



" Foreman, THOMAS FISK, 
WILLIAM FISK, 
JOHN BACHELER, 
THOxMAS FISK, Jun., 
JOHN DANE, 
JOSEPH EVELITH, 
[Not dated.] 



THOMAS PERLY, Sen., 
JOHN PEBODY, 
THOMAS PERKINS, 
SAMUEL SAYER, 
ANDREW ELLIOTT, 
HENRY HERRICK, Sen. 



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